The Messinger Sisters
by BlueIvory
Summary: The Messinger sisters are just like the Mercer brothers, including the death of their adopted father. They meet up with the Mercers and together find who killed their parents. Takes place durning and after the movie!
1. Introduction

**A/N: Just so you know, this is just a bit of background on each of the four sisters. The next part will be the actual first chapter. **

_Bellatrix "Bella" Messinger __-_ Eldest Messinger daughter. Came to Evan Messinger when she was 11 after having been shuffled through foster homes since age 4. She was always in trouble and had been put into Juvenile dentention at age 11 before she came Evan. She doesn't really remember her real parents. She's Bobby in girl form, the most violent, short-tempered, strong-willed, and outspoken of her sisters.

_Looks - _Dirty blonde hair to the middle of her back. Bright blue eyes that seem to pierce your very soul, pointed face, tan, the most muscular of her sisters. 5'6" tall.

_Works as a dancer or any random job she can. Moves around a lot, rarely in one place for too long, unless she's in jail. _

**Age in story: 30**

_Jewel "Jules" Messinger __-_ Second eldest Messinger daughter. Came to Evan when she was 10 after being through foster and group homes for her entire life. She was neglected, verbally abused, and occasionally physically abused though not as much as Jayden. Of her sisters, she's the only one to have gotten a real job and completely straighten up, sort of. She still has her wild streak in her, of course, it just harder to provoke out of her than Bella or Andi. She's married to a man named Charlie and has a son named Sam (age 5).

_Looks - _Dark red hair cropped just under her chin. Dull green eyes, rounded face, not pale but not tanned either, small belly from having Sam but is working it off when she gets the chances to. 5'8" tall.

_Real estate agent. Still lives in Detroit. _

**Age in story: 28 **

_Andrea "Andi" Messinger __-_ Second youngest Messinger daughter. Came to Evan when she was 10 after having been in foster homes since age 6. She only vaugely remembers her real parents. Most of what she suffered was neglect in the homes. She is just like Bellatrix only slightly tamer and able to keep her temper in check for the most part.

_Looks -_ Dark brown hair with golden highlights down to just past her shoulders. Chocolate brown eyes, oval face, dark brown skin tone, thin, but healthily so and muscular, like her other sisters. 5'9"

_For now, she works by racing cars and any odd job she happens across. Lives in Columbus, Ohio, but moves home to Detroit after the dad dies._

**Age in story: 25**

_Jayden "Jay" Messinger __-_ Youngest Messinger daughter. Came to Evan at age 8, battered, bruised and unwilling to speak for nearly a year. She already hadn't been speaking since she was 5 and her parents died. When she was 5 her mother went crazy and killed her father and herself. Jayden found them and got blood on her hands from the wounds. When Jay was 3 her mother lost her second child which made her slowly go crazy. From 5 to 8, she was shuffled through so many foster homes and brutally abused in all of them, including being burnt in a fireplace. She's the shyest of all of her sisters and idolizes Bella much like Jack idolizes Bobby.

_Looks - _Long black hair, down to her hips with bright green and purple streaks throughout it. Blue-green eyes, heart-shaped face, really pale and skinny but muscular just not as much as her sisters. 6' even.

_Artist, lives in Soho, New York after moving out of Evan's home in Detroit. _

**Age in story: 22**

Evan taught all four girls to speak Italian and martial arts when they came to live with him.


	2. Chapter 1

"Family stuff too?" Jayden's neighbor, Jack, sat beside her on the gray hound bus from New York to Detroit.

"Yeah. Back home in time for the holidays," Jayden sighed. Home in time for Papa's funeral, she added silently.

Jack, of course, noticed that something was wrong. It was obvious in Jay's drawings the past two days. Just like his sadness was obvious in the songs he'd played since he got the call from Jerry telling him Ma had been shot. He wouldn't press her though, just like she wouldn't press him.

Together, the two friends rode in mostly silence home to Detroit. They spoke of growing up in Detroit as adopted children when they spoke at all.

"Call me if you get a chance, okay Jackie?" Jay questioned as they got off the bus.

"When I get a chance, Jay-bird," He hugged her and went to catch his ride with Jerry.

Jayden wandered a bit before she found Jewel. "Hey Sis," Jules pulled her into a hug.

"'Lo Jewel. Is Bellatrix or Andi gonna make it?" She asked.

"They're supposed to. Come on. Do you have your bags?"

"Yeah, I've got everything," Jayden got into the passenger side of Jewel's car.

The whole ride to the funeral, Jay starred out the window as Detroit whipped by. Jules didn't speak, knowing Jayden liked her silence. She still remembered when Jay came to the Messinger home and hadn't spoken a word for a year.

At the cemetery, Jewel stood with her husband Charlie and son Sam. Jay stood off to the side behind Bella and zoned out durning all the speeches for her father. She knew everything they were saying anyway.

She left with Jules and her family, leaving Bella to be the last one there.

"Hey Jay," Jayden stood outside Jewel's house when Bella walked up to her.

"How've you been, Bella?" Jay lit her cigarette.

"As good as I could be, I guess. Come on, let's go inside," Bella put her arm around Jay's shoulders and the two of them walked into Jewel's house, Jayden putting her cigarette out before they got inside.

Jay and Bella stayed at Jewel's for a while, talking to her son Sam and husband Charlie. After everyone there had left, the three sisters drove to their father's house. Jay rode with Bella.

"Been keepin' outta trouble, Pixie?"

"Bella, I'm not that thin anymore, ya know. And yes, I have," Jay had been thin enough to see all her ribs clearly when she first came to Evans and that was why Bella had given her the nickname.

Jay could see her sister shrug in the window. Bella stayed quiet the rest of the ride, knowing her sister didn't want to speak and respecting that this one time.

The three girls started up the stairs when a voice spoke in the dark of their dad's porch. "Ya'll ain't right, leaving me out here to freeze like this."

"Hey little sis, ya bitch!" Bella hugged Andi. "You missed our dad's funeral."

Jules and Jay both hugged their sister. "I didn't mean to. I was racing in Vegas and my flight got delayed."

The four girls walked inside and stopped in their tracks. Jayden half expected their dad to come bounding down the stairs, beaming at the four of them.

"Jay, Andi, you two take your old rooms. I'll take Papa's room." Bella decided. The three of them headed upstairs and Jules sat in the living room.

Jay walked into her old room and tossed her bag onto the bed. She reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out her paints and brushes. Jay sat in front of the only, small, blank stretch of wall left in her room. Without really thinking, she began painting.

"There you are, Jay-bird."

"Where'd you expect me to be?" She asked, not turning to look at Bella.

"On your bed, actually."

"Guys, we're gonna do Thanksgiving together tomorrow. Act like a real family at least," Jules spoke up from the doorway.

"If you're cookin', I ain't eatin'," Andi decided.

"Shut up, Andrea!" Jules punched her sister as Bella and Jay laughed.

"Relax. Jay-bird'll cook for us. Won'tcha, Jay?"

"Guess I have to if ya'll want dinner to be edible." She smirked at Bella.

"Quiet you," Bella cuffed Jay upside the back of her head.

Jay just turned back to what she was painting. "Whatcha paintin', Jay-bird?" Jules sat beside her.

"Dad." Andi answered for her. After a while, Jules left back to her family, Andi and Bella went to their beds, and Jay kept painting her dad's face.

_A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. The Mercer boys will be in the next chapter, I think. At least, they should be. Please review guys, I really want to know what you think._


	3. Chapter 2

At about five am, Jayden finished painting and decided she may as well find out if their dad had already bought the Thanksgiving turkey or not. He had, so she went about preparing dinner the long way.

By noon, both Andi and Bella had woken up and Jules had come over. The three of them were sitting in the living room, watching the hockey game.

"Jay-bird, when'd you get that metal thing in your mouth?"

"Shut up, Bella! I happen to like my tongue ring. Besides, me and my friend jack got them together." Jay stuck her tongue out at her sister. "Get your asses in here! Food's done," Jay called her other two sisters into the dining room.

The four girls stood around the table and Bella said a blessing. They sat to eat then.

Jewel looked to her father's seat and there he was, smiling at her. "Don't look so surprised, Jules. You knew I'd be watching you. But close those lips, I know you weren't raised in a barn."

Jules closed her mouth and went back to her food, a small smile on her face.

"Win another race, Andi?" Andrea's head swirled to face her dad. "Of course I know, dear. Get that elbow off the table, though."

Andi moved her arm and kept eating.

"Jay-bird, I know your life was hard before you came to me. Look at me, Jay," Her papa offered his hands as she looked up. "But your sisters will keep you safe."

Bellatrix reached for her glass. "Enough of this. Let's go play," She decided, standing up. "I can't have people say I'm letting my sisters slack off while I'm home."

"Damn it, Bella. I just got in from Vegas, it's too cold outside," Andi protested.

"Let's go, guys. I need to get out on the ice too," Jay spoke up. Seeing Jayden agree with Bella, the other two agreed and everyone went to get their hockey sticks and skates.

As they arrived at the hockey rink, Jay saw a familiar looking mop of dark blonde hair leaving the opposite side of the rink. Immediately, she thought she should call Jack, but decided against it knowing Bella'd get pissed if she wasn't paying attention to the game. She figured she'd have time after the game was over.

As with any game played with the most violent female hockey player, Bella, the other team was constantly picking players up off the ice. A number of them grumbled something about playing the Michigan Mauler and his brothers then playing the Messinger Mangler and her sisters in the same day was too much. Most of them ended up leaving, actually. This only served to make Bella angry, actually. Eventually, the four of them had to stop playing as there was no one left to play against.

Later that evening, after they'd gone to the lawyer and gotten their dad's safety deposit box, which only had Jay's and Jewel's birth certificates in it among other little trinkets, three of the four sisters sat in their dad's living room talking about how to start looking for who shot their dad. Jules had gone home to her son and husband instead of staying with them. She said she'd meet up with them in the morning.

"The gang story's completely bogus, I think. There couldn't have been anyone playing basketball when Papa was shot considering the court lights are turned out at 10. Unless that's changed since I moved to New York," Jayden stated, having been the only one of the four to have ever really played basketball.

"A professional hit on Dad?"

"Wait, Bella, what makes you think it was a pro?" Andi asked, Jay nodding to show she was confused too.

"Don't you two know anything? Sometimes, a pro will cover their shots with another crime then pay a witness to throw the cops off, understand?" Bella explained.

"Okay, but why the hell would anyone wanna kill the sweetest damn man in the whole fuckin' world?" Jay asked.

"I dunno, Jay-bird. Let's wait till tomorrow and then we'll go to the store and watch the tape. We'll go from there, after that. Probably try to find the witness if the clerk's ever seen him," Bella sighed.

That night, Jay actually slept, unlike the night before or even the 19 hour bus ride from New York. Not that the lack of sleep actually bothered her; she was perfectly able to function on very little sleep considering her art kept her awake late into the night often enough.

"Up and at 'em, Kiddo!" Bella threw a pillow at Jay that Jay caught.

"One, I'm awake already. Two, I'm not a kid," Jay sat up in her bed. "I'll be down in a few minutes," Jay got out of bed, dressed, and hurried down to meet her other two sisters.

"Jules is gonna meet us at the store in half an hour. Grab something real quick and let's go," Bella informed her.

They got to the store just after Jules and Bella told her what they'd discussed the night before and what they intended to do today. Jay looked over her sister's shoulder at the store. Standing next to a beat up Oldsmobile Cutlass was that same familiar head of reddish-blonde hair from the ice rink. This time, Jay knew who it belonged to.

"Jack Mercer!" She walked away from her sisters as she called out to him.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Cool it, Bobby. Hey Jay," Jack met her half way and pulled her into a hug. "Bobby, Angel, this is my friend Jayden. Jay, two of my brothers, Bobby and Angel."

"Hi guys. Jack, my sisters, Bella, Jules, and Andi. Guys, my friend Jack."

"Wait, how do you two know each other?" Bella asked.

"Jack lives in the loft above mine in Soho," Jay answered. "How come you guys are here?" She asked Jack.

"Our ma was shot here a few days ago."

"You're fuckin with me? So was our dad," Jay looked at Jack's brothers.

"That's just slightly weird."

"Lay off the sarcasm, Andi," Bella rolled her eyes.

"Alright, I'm here. Who are you guys?"

"Oh, Jay, my other brother Jerry. Jerry this is my friend Jay and her sister, Bella, Jules, and Andi."

"Their dad was shot inside with Ma," Bobby informed him.

"Last night we found out it wasn't random. The witness was paid and the whole gang story was some bullshit," Angel told his brother.

"Are you serious, man?" Jerry looked between Bobby and Angel.

Jay nudged Jack as she saw the store owner approach the door of the store. The eight of them walked up to him. "Can I help you ladies and gentlemen?"

"If we could just have a moment of your time, sir. Evelyn Mercer was our mother," Jack said.

"And Evan Messinger was our father," Jay added.

"They were good people, I liked them very much. Let's come inside," The owner unlocked the door and led them inside.

When Evan and Evelyn were actually shot, Jay and Jack had to turn away. Together, they paced behind their siblings as Bobby asked about the witness.

After getting the information, they left the store. "That was no gang shooting, that was an execution. They set our mom and your dad up. They set 'em up! Come on," They broke into a run toward the gym.

**A/N: Okay, I do know what I'm doing with this for the most part so the updates shouldn't take that long for me to get out unless I can't get to my computer for whatever reason.**


	4. Chapter 3

Together, the eight of them walked into the gym where a basketball game was going on. "What's the plan, Bobby?" Jerry asked.

"We're wingin' it Jerry."

"We're always wingin it," Jerry complained.

Jay smiled slightly. "They sound like my sisters," She whispered to Jack.

"We're gonna get killed," Jack stated after smiling back at Jay.

"What do ya mean, 'we', white boy?" Angel shot back.

"You ready?" Bobby and Bella went out on the court together and Angel and Andi went a separate direction.

Bobby took the ball from the referee and started dribbling it. Jay scanned the spectator stands quickly. A ball player came up to Bobby and he hit the guy in the face with the ball and pulled the guy to the floor. The rest of the ball players crowded around Bella and Bobby then backed up suddenly.

"No need to grab! This'll only take a second! Now shut up and listen!" The two of them had pulled out their guns and were pointing them at the surrounding players. Jules and Jerry ran out onto the court to them.

"My name's Bobby Mercer and this here is Bella Messinger. Some of you might've known our parents and some of you know they were shot about a week ago across the street. Sixty-two and…."

"…. sixty-four years old, murdered in cold blood!" Jay couldn't hear what Jerry or Jules said to them "We're lookin' for the witness. Ballplayer, big guy."

"Supposedly never wears a coat. Dog lover, ring any bells?" Jack nudged Jay and the two of them followed the kid who'd gotten up and was leaving the gym.

"Hey! Hey, kid!" Jay shouted after him. He broke into a run and they ran after him.

"No running in the halls!" He slammed into the door and Jack grabbed a hold of him as Angel and Andi walked in through the door.

"Man get off me!"

"Why you running?" Jay demanded.

"Get off me man! I don't know nothing!"

"Why don't you shut up?" Jack spoke up.

"You got something to tell me youngster?" Angel asked, towering over the kid.

"Here, back him against the wall. Jack, you go get the others," Andi instructed. Jack nodded and left to get the other four. "Now kid, now is not the time to mess around. What's your name?" Andi asked.

"Keenon," He answered after a moment.

"Now Keenon, when the others get here, you damn well better answer their questions," Angel advised.

"What do we got here?" Bobby asked as the five of them walked out of the gym.

"Bobby, meet Keenon. Keenon, this is Bobby and Bella."

"Something tells us he was on his way to deliver a warning," Angel explained.

"What's his name, Keenon?" Bella asked.

"Damian. He's my brother man."

"He's your brother? No shit. These are my brothers and her sisters."

"No dog, he's my real brother," Keenon stated after looking around at the group.

"Yeah, these are our real siblings. I'm Bella, that's Andrea, Jewel, and Jayden."

"This is Angel, I'm Bobby, this is Jack and Jeremiah. So what about you and Damian? You guys still close?" Bobby asked.

"Does he live at home with you?" Bella followed quickly.

"Yeah, but I ain't tellin' you shit else."

"I wouldn't sell out my brothers either," Angel stated as Bobby grabbed the kids bag. He handed the bag to Jerry and Jules to look for something useful.

"Just calm down, okay? Look we just wanna talk to him," Bella assured him.

"We just wanna ask him a few questions. Is he gonna cooperate?" Bobby asked.

"Hey, we got somethin'," Jules stated, pointing to something on the paper she was holding.

"Address?" Bella asked.

"He lives in the Gardens, right over there," Jerry pointed to the opposite side of the hallway they were standing in.

"Enjoy the rest of the game, okay? Don't worry about it," Bobby tried to reassure the kid.

They left then, Jack and Jerry making fun of the necklace the kid was wearing as they did.

"Guys, I can't stay. I gotta get Sam to his martial arts class," Jules stated.

"Damn, Jules. Kid's only what, 7?" Bella turned to her.

"Papa enrolled him in it, I will have you know. Let me know what happens, got it?" They nodded and she took off.

"You guys sit in your car, we'll be in mine. When we see him, we'll go in one way, you go in the other to try to corner him, got it?" Bobby explained the plan.

"Yeah," Bella nodded and she, Jay, and Andi made their way to her car. Jayden starred out the window of the backseat of the car, humming one of Jack's songs to herself while her sisters talked about Vegas in the front seat.

"Guys, he's here. There he is!" She caught sight of Damian as he walked into the building.

The three of them jumped out of the car as the boys, minus Jerry, got out of theirs. "You take that door, we'll take that one!" Bobby shouted to Bella and they went to each side entrance.

By the time the girls got inside, Bobby and Angel were nowhere to be seen and Jack was standing in front of the elevator. "Go up the stairs, I'll tell you where it stops," Jack told the girls. Andi and Bella rushed past him and up the stairs. Moments later, the elevator stopped. "Six! It stopped at six!" He shouted up the stairs to the others.

"Should we follow?" Jay asked after a moment more.

"Yeah. Come on," The two of them started up the stairs behind their siblings.

"Where's Jerry?" Jay asked.

"He had to take his girls to gymnastics." Jack explained. They were almost to the 6th floor when Bella, Bobby, Andi, and Angel came back to the stairs.

"Come on, on the elevator. He's outside, downstairs," Bella told them.

"Bobby fucked him up. Cut the rope he was trying to climb out the window with," Andi explained to her sister's confused look.

Jay just nodded and the six of them rode the elevator downstairs. "Which door?" Jay asked as they stepped out.

"This way," Bobby and Bella led the group to where Damian was laying in the snow, leg split open.

"Man, you must be freezing," Jack called to Damian as they approached him.

"You won't be needin this no more, playboy," Angel picked up his gun where it'd fallen on the snow.

"You know why we're here, Damian?" Bella demanded.

"Come on, man, call me an ambulance."

"An ambulance? For what, my dog bites? I'm gonna be okay. You give us a name and we'll call," Bobby said.

"We wanna know who shot up that liquor store, now," Bella demanded.

"Man, I didn't shoot no one."

"Speak up, can't hear you, playboy. It's hard to hear you out here with all this wind," Angel smirked.

"If we leave, ain't nobody else gonna hear you out here either," Andi stated.

"You ain't goin far with that leg either," Bobby stated, looking at the aforementioned leg.

"Look, man, these two fools said they'd pay me a few dubs if l said l saw some gangsters shoot up the place, all right? But I didn't hurt no one!"

"Well, turn into a fuckin fudgesicle."

"Hey, come on man! I can't say nothin'!"

"Fair enough. You're gonna die right here," Together, the six of them turned to leave. Jay kept her eyes away from him and that fucked up leg of his. Jack kept glancing back at him. He kept shouting to them as Bobby and Angel talked.

"I'm callin his bluff."

"Think he gonna break?" Angel asked.

"With that sparerib hanging out of his leg? It's only a matter of time," Bella answered first.

"You sure?" Andi question.

"Wanna put money on it?" Bobby shot back.

"Are you sure?" Angel clarified.

"Turn around, dick lips," Bobby hit Jack and they headed back to Damian. "Give me a name," Bobby instructed.

"Where can we find him?" Bella asked.

"I don't know his name. All I know is he's got a braided goatee and you can find him at the Casino Restaurant. He said he's not usually there until about 8 o'clock," Damian told them.

"That wasn't so difficult, was it?" Bella rolled her eyes. "Call him an ambulance, Andi." After the ambulance was called, the six of them left him lie there.

"Let's go to our house for a few hours, guys. There we can wait until it's time to go to the restaurant."


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's note: I just wanted to thank anexandra for never failing to review a chapter. It means a lot to me. Thanks!**

Bella parked her car in the driveway of their dad's house while Bobby parked on the side of the road. Bella led the way into the house and Jay trailed behind everyone else with Jack.

"Okay, so let me see if I understand this. The two of you have known each other since Jack moved to New York?" Bobby asked.

"After that, Jack moved into the lofts before I did. We've known each other about three and a half years now, I think," Jay responded.

"You're joking? Why haven't we heard you talk about him then?" Andi asked.

"When was the last time you talked to me for more than 20 minutes?" Jay countered.

"Guess we've all been too busy with our own lives to worry about each other," Andi concluded.

"So, do you make a lota racket like our Jackie does?" Bobby asked.

"Nope. He's a musician, I'm an artist. And he's actually really good, I will have you know," Jay defended him.

"Yeah, for a fairy," Bobby stated.

"Shut up, Bobby!"

"He does that often, I take it?" Jay looked over at Jack.

"All the time," Jack sighed.

Bella sat down in front of the fireplace in the living room and started to build a fire. "Jackie, switch me spots?" Jay asked, eyeing her sister and what she was doing.

"Yeah, sure. Are you alright?" He asked.

"Not really. Fires make me nervous," She confessed.

Bella hesitated for a moment and then kept on building the fire. "Are you ever gonna tell us why that is by the way?" Andi asked.

"Let her finish then I think I might," Jay said.

"Jayden!" Andi threw a pillow at her in frustration. Just then, someone knocked on the door to the beginning tune of Frere Jacques (Brother John). Jay grinned and knocked out the second half on the window beside her head.

"Hi Ricky!" Jack called.

"Jack? What're you doin here?" Ricky walked into the living room.

"Could ask you the same question, couldn't I?"

"Hey Ricky," Bella walked over to him and hugged him. "Jack and his brothers are here 'cause their Ma was shot with our dad," She explained.

"Which is why I'm here anyway. Are you guys okay?" He asked the four girls, looking at Jay for the most part.

"Not yet, but we will be," Jay answered honestly. "Guys, this is my old foster brother, Ricky. Ricky, Jack's brothers Bobby, Angel, and Jerry." She introduced them.

"He was her foster brother before she came to us," Bella clarified, moving to sit back in front of the fire.

Seeing it, Ricky moved to sit on Jack's other side, between Jay and the fire. "You know why fire makes Jay nervous," Andi stated.

"Nervous? That's all anymore?" Ricky asked her.

"I've gotten better. I used to have to leave the room when they lit a fire," She confessed.

"Why?" Andi asked, looking more to Ricky now, knowing it was likely that he would answer.

Jay gave him a small nod and leaned into Jack's side. "It's my father's fault, really. When jay came to us, he was determined to do everything he could to make her make some sort of noise. Once, she was beaten with a hot fire poker and still made no noise. The day after that, he threw her into the fireplace with a fire going. That got her to scream and he pulled her out. But not before her hair was mostly burnt off and she got 2nd and 3rd degree burns on her back and neck." Ricky starred into the fire as he spoke.

"Ricky called the police then. On his own father. For the next 61 years, three months, and," She paused and looked at the calendar. "17 days Richard is in the Michigan State Penitentiary for attempted murder of a minor," She finished, watching Ricky.

"That's why the two of you have stayed in touch, isn't it?"

"Of course it is, Bella. Ricky saved my life. Don't Ricky!" She could see him starting to deny it. "Yes you did, whether you believe it or not."

"Okay, so I know how you know Jay, but how do you know Jack?" Jerry asked.

"His band, The Spades, play at my club in New York at least three times a week, sometimes more," Ricky informed them.

"Yeah, thanks to Jayden," Jack put in.

"Not true. All I did was get you your first gig there. You guys got yourselves hired there," She insisted. "I had no part in that."

"So wait, the fairy and his band actually play at some club regularly?" Bobby asked. "I'm shocked."

"Shut up, Bobby," Jay said matter of factly from her spot against Jack's side.

"So, Ricky, this club of yours, Jay doesn't work there, does she?" Bella asked. She had a problem with any of her little sisters working in a club or bar she didn't know.

"I've painted some stuff on the walls and on most of the table tops, that's all," Jay answered first.

The group hung out together for a while longer until Ricky left and shortly after that Bobby stated that it was 20 till 8.

"You girls take your car, alright? We'll take mine. And I think you'll have to lead to the restaurant because I don't really remember how to get there," Bobby spoke to Bella.

Bella nodded and the six of them made their way out and into the two cars. Jay knew that whatever happened when they caught up with the shooters couldn't be anything good.

Together, the six of them walked into the restaurant and looked around. "Goatee, goatee, look for a man with a goatee," Angel spoke.

Jay nudged Jack and gestured to the man. "There he is," She said as Jack nudged Bobby.

Right there, the guy with the goatee," Jack pointed and was kinda loud about it. The guy and his friend, the other shooter, obviously saw them. The guy with the goatee pulled out his gun and fired at Bobby. Bobby and Bella pulled out their guns and they chased after the guys, Jay and Jack in the lead because of their long legs.

Jack grabbed the shot gun from Angel and fired off a few shots before the two shooters drove off. "Follow us!" Bobby shouted to Bella as the six of them got into their own two cars and gave chase.

"Bobby's got no traction," Jay stated, watching Bobby slid around the road more than Bella was.

"Shut up, Jay. Put your seat belt on!" Bella ordered. "Andi, can you hit the shooters without hitting the guys?"

"Maybe, if they would stop sliding all over the damn place. Try going the opposite way they go, Bella," Bella did and they almost skidded off the side of the road.

After chasing the two shooters for a few minutes, Bobby hit the shooters' car and flipped it over. Bella stopped, threw the car into park, and the three of them hurried out of the car.

"Stay here, Jay," Bella told her sister as they passed Jack. Jay stood beside Jack as Andi and Bella continued past them to Bobby and Angel.

Through the snow, they could barely see their siblings but they clearly heard the four gun shots ring out into the night and knew what had happened. Bobby, Angel, Andi, and Bella walked back to their siblings.

"Are the dead?" Jack asked, as they turned back to the cars.

"Yeah, they're gone!"

"They killed our parents. We got them," Bella pulled on Jay's arm to make her hurry up.

"Bella, can you follow us to the junk yard to get rid of this and give us a ride back?" Bobby asked as they reached the cars.

"Yeah, sure," The girls followed them and Bobby dropped his car in front of the junk yard, pulling out anything that was important. Jack sat, leaning against the corner of the seat of the car and Jay sat between his legs, leaning against him.

Jay turned to look at Jack, silently asking him a question. He nodded. "Bella, Bobby? I'm gonna stay with Jack tonight, okay?"

Bobby nodded his agreement. "We'll be over tomorrow morning to see what we can find about why they were killed, alright?" Bella asked Bobby.

"Yeah. Sometime around ten should be good," Bella nodded.

Twenty minutes later, Bella stopped in front of the Mercer home and let the three boys and Jay out.

"Who is this?" A skinny girl with long black hair was waiting in the living room.

"Jack's friend, Jay. Jay, La Vida Loca, Angel's girl."

"Shut up, Bobby!" It seemed like that was a popular thing to say to Bobby.

"Her name's Sofi," Jack whispered to Jay. Angel and Sofi left the room shortly after that. Jack and Jay stayed up with Bobby for about an hour longer before they too went to bed.

"It's not very big, if you'd rather sleep on the couch or you'd rather have the bed and I'll take the floor," Jack offered.

"Just get me some comfy pants and one of your shirts, Jackie," Jay stated. He smiled and dug for the aforementioned pants and tee-shirt. Jack tossed them to her and left the room to change into his pajamas in the bathroom. When he got back, Jay was already curled up on his bed. She held out her hand to him and pulled him onto the bed beside her.

The next morning, Jay woke up slowly and stretched out on the bed. "Jackie?"

"Right here," Jack spoke from a few feet away. "Bobby and Angel are already awake and your sisters should be here soon," He informed her.

"Thanks, Jack," She got up out of the bed. "I mean it, Jack. Thanks for letting me spend the night here."

Jack pulled her into a hug. "I needed you here last night too. Just don't tell the others," He winked at her. Jay smiled and Jack left the room so she could change. The two of them went downstairs together.

"Where's your car Bobby? It's not outside," Jay rounded the corner to see Greene standing there talking to Bobby.

"Hey Dave!"

"Jayden?"

"You were expecting Bella maybe? And we drove them home. Idiot over here tried to drive in that snow storm on bald tires and wrecked his car," Jay provided the answer to Greene's question.

"Hey! I am not an idiot!"

"Bobby, even I know better than to try driving in that kinda snow without at least decent tires and I haven't driven since I moved to New York," She rolled her eyes at Greene.

"How have you been anyway, Jay?"

"Not too bad, all things considered. You?"

"Pretty good, actually. Come here," Greene pulled her into a hug.

"How exactly do you all know each other?" Fowler demanded.

"Jay and I are neighbors in New York," Jack supplied.

"And we met Jay and her sisters at the corner store yesterday," Angel added.

"Speaking of, Bella just pulled in," Jack said, looking out the front window. "It's open!" He called before she even knocked.

"Here, moron, you left this in my car," Bella tossed Bobby's lighter to him. "Hi Dave! What're you doin' here?" Bella smiled and went to hug the detective.

"Hey Bella. Hi Andi," Greene hugged them both.

"We're here because forensics found one of slick's hairs on a pair of dead contract killers this morning," Fowler pulled out a little baggie with a hair in it and held it up.

"Fishin for a confession with a phony hair? That's an old one, boys," Bobby snorted and sat back down the couch. "Come on, Greene. You know when I'll know you got my hair off a dead body right? When I hear the jail house doors closing behind me, girls."

"Okay, then you tell me what they told you. You think that these thugs were hired to kill Evelyn, is that it?" Greene asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Greene," Bobby stated.

"Wait, Greene, how do you go from petty thug to contract killer? And even if they were professional shooters like you say, they'd have never told us who they were workin' for anyway. Even if they got one hell of a ass-whoopin'," Angel spoke from the arm of the couch.

"You think you're pretty cute, don't you? He does. Everybody's a smart guy 'till I bust 'em in the mouth," Fowler moved over to Angel.

"Don't even try it," Bella grabbed his arm as he moved past her. "Angel did nothin' to you. Just 'cause you're getting pissed off doesn't mean you get to start bustin' people in the mouth," Andi and Jay looked away, hiding their smirks. That sounded like something Bella would do.

"Look, Bobby, if you got something, you give it to me. And if it's something vital we will run with this. But don't try and take on Detroit by your damn self. You keep knockin' on the devils door long enough, and sooner or later, someone's gonna answer you," Greene stated.

"Nice analogy, Dave. And who are we thinking might be the one to answer the aforementioned door?"

Greene looked at Bella. "Oh I really don't like this. All of you actually working together on something? No good can come of this."

"Sure it can. You tell us what you know, we'll tell you what we know," Bella shrugged.

"And what makes you think….."

"Fowler! Enough. That's not why we're here. Look, if you get something important, not just a guess, call me and let me know. If we get something, I'll call you," Bella nodded and gave him her cell number, then he wrote his number on her hand and the two detectives were off.

"Thanks for that, by the way," Bobby looked to Jay and then Bella and Andi.

"No problem. So what are we doing today?" Bella asked.


	6. Chapter 5

"Wait just a second, how do you guys know Greene? Well enough to use his first name at that?" Angel asked.

"Bella dated him for a while just after high school," Andi answered.

"Are we even doing anything today?" Jay re-asked Bella's question.

"Yes. We're going to the shooters' place. See if we can find out who hired them," Bobby answered, holding up two wallets. "Just wait here a minute while I go get dressed," He left the room and was back in five minutes.

"Wonderful. Do we know yet where that is or are you gonna wait until we're all in my car?" Bella raised an eyebrow.

Bobby pulled out one of the licenses. "West Marine's. That's down by the river, right?" Bobby looked to Bella.

"Yeah. Come on, let's go take a look," Bella responded.

AS they started to walk out the doorway of the living room, Sofi put her arm across the doorway, leaning against the frame. "Baby," Angel stated.

"Now sweetie, wasn't there a discussion about a dinner together? Because I seem to remember spending two hours in the kitchen."

"We got some important shit to deal with, baby."

"She's so la vida loca," Bobby adopted a fake accent.

"Man, don't do that shit right now."

"Shut up, Bobby!" Sofi moved out of the doorway. "Don't you start with that crap."

"Can ya'll not go there?" The three of them started talking at the same time and Jay had trouble telling who said what.

"Can we go?" Bobby looked to Angel.

"Angel, you said this time was gonna be different," Sofi faced him, put her hands on his shoulders, and adopted a whiney voice.

"Ah, mami, you're breaking mi corazon, chica," Bobby adopted the fake accent again and Sofi walked away. "She's getting real comfortable here, huh? What are you doin?" He moved to stand in front of Angel. "I thought you was a macho man? A tough guy? You know, it's a real shame when little Jackie's the only one down to ride. Let's go guys," He started leading them out all out the door. "Say goodbye to your big sister, Jackie. Let's go."

Angel said something as Jay walked out the door but she didn't catch it. Nor did she catch what Jack said back to him. "Well, that was exciting," Andi rolled her eyes.

It didn't take long before they were breaking in to the Shooter's apartment. "Check everything, you two. There's gotta be some shit around here that ties these guys to somebody else," Bobby instructed as he, Bella, and Andi walked into the other room of the apartment.

"There's nothing here," Jay stated, having pulled up all the cushions while Jack looked through all the drawers.

"Here," Jack held up a camera.

"You two dickin' around in here? You find anything?" Bobby and the others walked back in.

"Camera," Jack held it up.

"Come on," On the way back to the house, Bobby kept trying to call Angel on Andi's cell phone but he never answered.

Once they reached the house, Bobby set a duffle bag on the table and started pulling out guns, telling Jay and Jack what they were as he did. "They say dead men tell no tales, but they sure leave important shit lying around," Bella said, picking up one of the guns.

"Hey, what the hell are ya'll doin' now?" Jules and Jerry walked in.

"Just getting' a head start on next years taxes, Jerry," Bobby answered.

"Look how ya'll doin' Mama's house! Come on. Look at this table, man. Come on," Jerry looked around the house.

"Ya know what? You're right," Bobby turned to the kitchen where Sofi was putting the dinner she'd made for her and Angel into containers. "Hey Sofi, why don't you do me a favor a clean up some of this shit? Make yourself useful," She threw a box at his head. "You missed."

"Hey Bobby," Angel walked in the back door. While they were talking, Jay picked up the camera and started flipping through the pictures on it.

"They were tracking our parents. Look," Jay held out the camera so the others could see the pictures.

"Hang on, this one is of them both. I didn't know they knew each other," Bella took the camera from Bobby.

"You didn't? I thought for sure dad would've told you at least," Jules looked to her older sister.

"Hang on," Jay walked over to the coat rack and pulled out an envelop from the inside pocket. "Dad wrote to me and I got the letter just before I left to come here. I haven't opened it yet. But he talked to me a few days before he sent it to tell me that he was sending me a picture of him and his girlfriend and one of her and her sons," Jay explained, walking back to the group and opening the envelope.

"Well?" Jack asked.

"Give me a second and I'll tell you," She pulled out the two pictures. On top was one of her dad and an older woman with curly white hair. She looked at the second one and her eyes widened. "Aw, you guys look so cute," She teased, holding up the picture for the boys to see. It was the same curly haired woman in the other picture, but now she was surrounded by Bobby, Jerry, Angel, and Jack.

"Our parents were dating?" Jerry asked, not really requiring an answer.

"Seems that way. Lemme see the other one, Jay-bird," Jules held out her hand for the picture.

Jay pulled out the note that came with the pictures. "Hey guys? There's more of the pictures of the two of them at Dad's house. In case ya'll want one," She added, looking up from the note.

"Where were you anyway, Angel?" Bobby asked, looking at the picture of their parents.

"Following up on new leads," Angel answered but refused to elaborate.

"Il qualcos'altro sta accendendo qui. Sono stati rintracciati per un motivo, _Something else is going on here. They were tracked for a reason_" Bella spoke in Italian.

"Approvazione, ma che cosa? _Okay, but what?" _Jules asked.

"Bella, Che cosa state pensando? _What are you thinking?_" Jay asked.

"Attendiamo fino a che non dica loro che cosa ha scoperto, _Let's wait until he tells them what he found out." _Andi reasoned.

"Hanno orinato qualcuno fuori. Non ho idea che ed io non sappia, ma hanno dovuto avere. Perchè altrimenti qualcuno assumerebbe gli shooters professionisti per uccidere le due genti anziane preoccupantesi nel mondo?_They pissed someone off. I have no idea who, and I don't know how, but they had to have. Why else would someone hire professional shooters to kill the two most caring old people in the world_?" Bella said.

"A meno che sia uno di noi erano dopo. O tutti noi,_Unless it was one of us they were after. Or all of us_" Jay suggested.

Bella looked at her sister for a moment and turned to the guys. "Have any of you pissed someone off lately? Someone who would be willing to hire shooters to kill your mom because of something you did?" She asked, calmly. The boys all shook their heads. "Then they had to have pissed someone off. Like I told my sisters, I don't know who and I don't know how, but they did. I can't think of any other reason for this," She sighed.

The group stayed together late into the night. Jules and Jerry left earlier than the others because of their families but the others were all there until around midnight. Jay left with her sisters this time.

The next morning, Jay, Bella, and Andi got to the Mercer home just as Bobby and Jack were stepping out of it.

"Hey. I was gonna call you in a minute. We got to go see a man named Douglas. We'll explain on the way," Bobby said.

On the way to see the councilman, Bobby explained that Jerry had apparently gotten mixed up with the wrong kind of people and that Douglas had shut his business shut down. They wanted to know who their brother had gotten mixed up with and Douglas would know that.

"This is what Angel was talking about yesterday?" Bella asked.

"Part of it. There's more and he's following up on that today. He just won't tell us what it is," Bobby answered.

"Jay, listen to me. You should stay here. Given your aversion to fire, it would be best," Jack spoke quietly to her when they parked. "Don't worry though. It's just to get him to talk, no one will get hurt," He promised. Jay nodded and the other four left the car, Bella grabbing the gas can out of her trunk.

Less than 15 minutes later, the four of them were back. "Victor Sweet? I know I know that name from somewhere," Bobby stated, getting into the car.

"Malcolm Sweet's nephew? He took over the neighborhood after he sunk Malcolm into the river. What does he have to do with this?" Jay asked.

"He's who Jerry got mixed up with," Jack told her.

"You're kidding me?"

"Wait, I remember him now. Scrawny little kid, Malcolm used to humiliate him all the time, right?" Bobby looked in the rearview mirror at Jay.

"That's him," She nodded.

"Let's go meet up with Angel now, guys. We'll tell him what we've found out and find out what he knows," Bobby said.

Ten minutes later, they pulled up in front of the bowling alley where Angel was going to meet them.

"What do you think he found?" Jack asked as they were walking in.

"I don't know, but it's big," Bobby answered.

"How can you tell?" Bella asked.

"By the sound of his voice. I know my brother."

They walked in and waited for Angel to get there. "What's going on Angel?" Andi asked when he sat with them.

"Was the councilman helpful?" He asked.

"Oh yeah. Real public servant." Bobby answered. "You remember a punk named Victor Sweet?"

"I remember a Malcolm Sweet."

"Victor's his nephew," Jay filled in.

"He used to deliver things for his uncle. Like firebombs and beatin's. You remember. Malcolm loved to humiliate him," Andi elaborated.

"Yeah, I remember that dude."

"Apparently, Victor got sick of all the ass-whuppings and sunk his uncle into the river. He owns the whole neighborhood now," Bobby finished.

"No shit?" Angel paused. "Word around town is that Jerry owed a lot of people some money."

"What are you talking about?" Bobby asked.

"Recognize that dude over there with the fat head?" Angel looked to one of the bowlers.

Bobby looked and said, "Yeah, that's Evander Pearson. He used to be alright, that guy. Jerry and him used to hang out during the union days."

"He goes by Evan now. And he's working for a guy named Victor," Angel stated.

"You guys are comin up with this pretty quick," Jack said.

"Yeah, we shoulda been cops," Bobby chuckled and picked up his beer. "What are we doin here Angel?" He asked, walking to Jay's other side, between her and Bella.

"Holy shit," Jay nudged Jack and everyone turned to see Jerry walk up to Evan. They talked for a moment and Jerry handed him an envelope.

"I found out that Jerry got a big insurance check from Mom's death."

"Forget Jerry. We'll find him later. Let's go."

"You guys handle this. We'll hang back here and give ya'll a ride home," Bella said. Bobby nodded, and the three of them made their way to Evan.

The three girls couldn't hear what was going on, but within minutes, the boys were back with the envelope. Silently, the group made their way to Bella's car. Bobby was fuming, they could all tell.

"Girls, I got a car today from a friend of mine. Meet us at our house tomorrow morning, alright? Jerry will be there too," Angel said.

"No problem. See you guys in the morning then," Bella nodded.

Bobby walked on ahead of the group. "Don't let him do anything stupid," Andi stated.

"We won't," Angel replied.

Jack pulled Jay into a hug. "See you tomorrow," He released her.


	7. Chapter 6

After the three girls got home, Bella called Jules to fill her in on what had happened while she'd been at home. She'd be coming with them when they went to see the guys the next morning.

"Andi?"

"Yeah Jay-bird?"

"I really don't like Fowler. There's something about him that just rubbed me the wrong way today. We should be careful around him," Jay sat on the edge of Andi's bed.

"Like a clenching in your gut around him kinda feeling?"

"Exactly."

"Yeah, me too. Don't worry though, we'll be fine. Speaking of, actually. Bella!"

"Yeah?" Bella poked her head into the room.

"You should call Dave. See if he's got anything new yet and tell him about our parents dating and about Sweet being involved," Andi said.

"Yeah, okay," Bella left the room. 20 minutes later she walked back in and sat beside Jay. "Fowler's dirty. Our parents filed a police report about Jerry's business and Victor's involvement in it and Fowler passed it on to him."

"So it's not Jerry that caused all this? He didn't hire anyone for insurance money or something stupid?"

"No, Jay-bird, he didn't. We have to get there before Jerry in the morning."

Jay, Andi, Bella, and Jules walked in the back door of the Mercer home in time to hear Jerry arguing with Bobby in the living room

"And what the fuck did he do for you Jerry?" Bobby was demanding. They must've been confronting him about paying Sweet the girls all decided.

"What did he do for me? He killed my fuckin' life! I put everything in that project! I bet it all tryin' to make something of myself! Tryin' to make the shit work! Then Vic's goons gonna come try to take a piece."

"You paid him, Jerry! You got in bed with him."

"No, no, I didn't pay 'em! That's how they fuckin shut me down!"

"Wait, I thought the city shut you down?" Jack spoke up. Jay went to stand closer to him, knowing he hated shouting as much as she did.

"Douglas? Come on, man! This is Detroit! Sweet owns Douglas! He ain't nothin but a gangster in a suit! I don't pay him and he shuts my loans off! End of story, end of project!"

"So what about the grant?" Someone knocked on the door and Jay followed behind Jake as he went to open it.

"You're mother was a whore!" Some guy flipped Jack off and threw a snow ball in his face.

"Hey, fuck you man!"

"No, Jack, don't!" Jay followed behind him as he followed the guy. She had a bad feeling about this.

"I will kick your...," Everything seemed to slow down from there. Jay reached her left arm to grab Jack's right as the masked man pointed a gun at them both. He seemed to hesitate slightly but then fired two shots, one hitting the left side of Jay's chest, the other hitting Jack. Jay fell to her knees, pain shooting through her body. The man got closer to them, intending to finish them off, she was sure, when two more shots rang out and he fell to the ground.

Jay scrambled out of the road as best she was able and she and Jack ended up at a telephone pole as a van pulled up and more shots rang out. She felt her legs explode in pain and screamed.

"BELLA!" She shouted.

"BOBBY!"

"JACK!"

"JAY!" The shots continued to fire over their heads. Jayden could feel her blood soaking her shirt. Blindly, she reached for Jack. Grasping his arm as tight as she was able, she shouted for Bella again.

"Hold on, Jay!" She heard as Bobby shouted the same to Jack. Jay rolled onto her back, letting go of Jack for a moment, so she could breathe. She grabbed his arm again though, unwilling to let go for long.

"Bella!" She shouted again, crying now, afraid she was going to die, here on Evelyn Mercer's front yard. She could hear Jack sobbing and struggling to breathe beside her and she knew he was thinking the same thing.

After what seemed to be forever, the guns stopped. They weren't out of the clear yet, apparently, as Jay could see the grey van speeding toward them. She heard the crunch of metal as Jerry's Volvo slammed into the side of the vehicle. Suddenly, Bella was kneeling over her.

Over all the rest of the shouting, she heard Bella's words. "Jayden! Don't you give up on me, Pixie! You hold on! You gotta fuckin' breathe, Jay-bird! Don't you die on me, damn it!"

Jay smiled, she was safe now. Bella would see to that. And then, she saw no more.

Jayden nor Jack saw Bella and Bobby get up and shoot the driver of the van. They didn't see Jerry, Jules, Angel, Andi, and Sofi crying. They didn't see or hear the police arrive too late to do anything of value. They didn't know Greene got shot by Fowler. They didn't see Fowler get shot by fellow police officers. They didn't see the fight between Bobby and Sweet. They didn't even see their siblings after the police 'interrogated' them after the disappearance of Victor Sweet.

The next thing Jayden Messinger and Jack Mercer saw was a brilliant white light.


	8. Chapter 7

All three of the Mercers and the three Messingers went to work repairing the Mercer home. The shoot out had damaged it a lot, more than they'd realized before. But no one slept there anymore.

Angel slept at Sofi's, Jerry and Jules had their own homes to go to, Andi stayed with Jules at her house, and Bobby and Bella stayed at the Messinger home.

Christmas was approaching quicker than any of them liked to think about, especially Bobby and Bella.

Every night, both were kept up for hours on end, hearing the screams of Jay and Jack as they called to their older siblings. This night was no different except that they were together in the kitchen, drinking Jack Daniels.

"What do you think they smiled for at the end?" Bella asked. It was known to all the Messingers and Mercers that Jack and Jayden had both smiled before dieing.

"Probably saw Ma and your dad or somethin'. Or realized they were moving on to heaven and leaving this shit behind," Bobby decided, starring at the amber liquid. "Jack drinks Jack. Jack drinks Jack," He mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Last time I was drinking this stuff was at the bar, the night before we met you guys at the store. Jack was already drunk and was singing about Jack drinking Jack," Bobby smiled faintly. "Then I made fun of him again for being gay," He lost the smile. "As usual."

"I've heard you do that, Bobby. It was an affection kinda thing. Just like me callin' Jay Pixie was affection."

"Yeah, but it pissed him off so bad. I kept doing it though."

"I bet if you had stopped, he'da thought something was wrong with you," Bella decided. "You really think they're in heaven?"

"I know it. If anyone deserves that place, they do," Bobby stated firmly.

They never could tell anyone how it happened, but the next day, when Andi came to see them, they were laying in Bella's bed, legs tangled together, clothes strewn about the room.

The next thing Jayden Messinger and Jack Mercer saw was a brilliant white light.

"If this is heaven, send me back," Jay mumbled, closing her eyes again.

"I'm with you," She heard Jack respond.

"Jack!" She bolted up in bed. Then promptly fell back down, slight pain shooting through her.

"Hey Jay. I was wondering how long before you woke up," Jack was sitting up in his bed, so Jay pushed the little button to move hers up.

"Charlie?"

"Oh good, you're awake. We were concerned after Jack woke up and you didn't for another two hours," Jewel's husband, Charlie, smiled at her. Charlie was a nurse so that must mean they were in a hospital.

"Explain. What the fuck is going on?"

"Do you remember being shot?"

"Vividly. The last thing I remember was Bella telling me not to die on her. Shit! Bella! Where are they?"

"Relax, Jayden, or they'll make me sedate you. Now, after you were shot, you technically died. Both of you did. Jack was dead for about 3 minutes, until they got him in the ambulance. You were gone slightly longer than that, about 5 minutes. They were able to bring you both back in the ambulances. You've been in a coma for about 3 weeks. Christmas is just a couple days away.

"Before you ask, no, you're sisters won't be here soon. Only Jules and Jerry still know the two of you are alive. They both thought it best that no one knew you made it until after Sweet was gone. From there, I have no idea why they haven't told the others. I assume the two of them will be here soon though. I called Jules not too long ago to tell her Jack was awake."

"Jayden!" As if his words had summoned her, Jules stood in the doorway, Jerry just behind her. Immediately, Jules was at her beside, hugging her tightly. Out of the corner of her eye, Jay could see Jerry hugging Jack. Then they switched and Jerry hugged Jay as Jules hugged Jack.

"Charlie, when can we go home? You know I hate hospitals," Jayden spoke up after Jerry let go of her.

"Let me get the doctor and we'll see," Charlie walked out of the room.

"Why don't the others know we're alive?" Jack asked immediately.

"Well, it's never seemed like a good time. And for a while we didn't want to tell them because the doctor wasn't sure you were gonna wake up," Jerry explained.

"And you'll be interested to know this," Jules nudged Jay's good shoulder. "Bobby and Bella are together now. Happened about a week and a half ago. Apparently they were drinking Jack Daniels, and the alcohol took over from there. You were right, they just needed a push."

"Straight into a bed," Jerry added, snickering. This caused Jay and Jack to laugh and that began a coughing fit. Water was pushed into Jay's hand and she drank it down, careful not to choke on it.

"Miss Messinger, it is very good to see you awake," The doctor walked in. "My name is Dr. Keeley. How are you feeling?"

"Like it's too fucking bright white in this room. It needs more color," Jay answered bluntly, earning snickers from the other three in the room. "What? He asked, I answered."

"Physically, how do you feel?" The doctor amended.

Jay sat back and thought about that for a minute. "Like I have chemicals in my system that I really don't want there. I can't fell any pain, if that's what you're asking. What did you put me on?"

"You're on a morphine drip. When we release you, you'll be given pain killers to take and I expect you to take them."

"Don't worry, Doc. I'll make sure she does," Jack assured the man.

"Traitor," Jayden hissed at him.

"She doesn't like pills either. She prefers herbal medicines," Jules explained to Dr. Keeley.

"I'm afraid you will have to be on the chemical pain killers, Miss Messinger. I do not trust that the herbs you use will have the same effects as the pills," He turned to her.

"I'm sure they won't either. I won't have any nasty side effects to worry about with my herbs," Jay pouted.

"Jayden Kay, you have to go on the pills. Don't argue with me."

"Pulling out my middle name, Jules? Damn," Both Jules and Jay knew she'd agree to the pills. It wasn't often Jules or Bella used any of their sisters' middle names but when they did, they'd have no argument. "Fine, whatever, Doc," She sighed.

"Good. Now, the two of you can be released tomorrow, provided you come in for physical therapy three times a week and keep up with your medications. Also, both of you will need to use crutches or a cane for a while due to the shots to your legs. Miss Messinger, I want you to stay completely off your right ankle as much as you possibly can. A bullet shattered the bones and you've got quite a bit of metal in there right now. Mr. Mercer, I don't want you to try walking much at all. You got hit in your right hip and shattered part of the hip joint. There's a lot of metal in you as well. Other than that, you should both be fine to leave tomorrow," The doctor explained.

"Why not tonight?" Jack asked.

"Because we want to keep you over night to make sure you're completely stable," Came the answer. "You are mostly healed right now, though. While you were in the comas, your bodies healed quite a bit otherwise I'd want you staying longer. Anything else?"

Silence for a moment, then Jack asked quietly, "Will I be able to play my guitar again?"

"It'll take a lot of work on your part, Mr. Mercer, but I don't see why you wouldn't be able to," Jack's face lit up as did Jay's.

"Doctor, what about the shot to my chest? What was the damage there?" Jay asked.

"Well, you weren't quite as lucky as Jack in that respect. The bullet to his chest went just past his ribs and landed in his shoulder blade. Yours, however, grazed your left lung. You may experience difficulty breathing for the next couple of days, however, your lung is mostly healed now as I stated before."

"Jules, I'm hungry," Jay turned to her sister after the doctor left.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Arby's okay with all of you?" She asked everyone. There were nods around the room and she left.

"So, Jerry, what happened?" Jack asked.

"First do you remember the whole argument before the shooting started?" He asked. They both nodded. "Good. Well, Jay, you were right about Fowler. He was dirty and he killed Greene. He handed Ma to Sweet 'cause she filed a police report about my business. Apparently, your dad got caught in the crossfire because he went down to the station with her. Sweet ordered the hit on them both. Anyway once we found all that out, Andi and Jules stayed with my wife Camille and the girls and Charlie and Sam. Angel took care of Fowler. Tricked him into thinkin' he was wired, got him to admit he killed Greene, and then Fowler ended up getting shot by other officers. Ya'll have to ask him for the better story. Then I went to make a deal with Sweet, now his cop was outta the way. Told him I'd give him the insurance money from Ma if he'd call off the hits on the rest of us. He was never gonna go for it though, so we came up with a new plan. We gave the money to his mistreated workers. Then Bella drove Bobby up to where we was and Sweet and Bobby went at it. Street fight on the ice. Bobby knocked Sweet out and then the workers dumped him into the water."

"Wait, water?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. We were on the lake. Anyway, then we was takin in for questioning by the cops but they got nothin on us," Jerry finished the story.

Jules came in a bit later with hot Arby's food for the four of them. "Told 'em everything didn't ya?"

"They asked, I told," Jerry shrugged.

Jack and Jay were both released from the hospital the next day, as promised. Jules drove them to the Messinger home while Jerry went to see everyone else where they were finishing up work on the Mercer home.

**Author's note: I never did like the fact that Jack died. It struck me as kinda pointless, so I couldn't let him die this time.:)**** There will be more soon, I promise.**


	9. Chapter 8

Jack and Jay were sitting on the couch in the Messinger home while Jules went to get their siblings.

"What's this about an early Christmas gift, now?" They heard Andi demanded as the six of them walked in.

"Well, it's somethin' we've been wantin' to tell ya'll since the shootout but there hasn't been a chance to do it yet," Jerry and Jules walked into the living room, Jack and Jay staying out of sight.

"Just tell us already, damn it!" Bobby demanded.

"Not something we can tell you, Bobby. Come in here and see for yourselves," Jules motioned for them to move into the living room.

"Exactly what the hell is going on here?" Bobby asked in a deadly calm voice. Angel, Andi, bobby, and Bella were starring at Jay and Jack who were sitting and laying on the couch. Jay had her head resting in Jack's lap.

"Turns out we only died for a few minutes each according to the doctor. They revived us in the ambulances," Jack explained quickly.

"Then you weren't told because of Sweet. If he'd've known we lived and were in comas, we'd've been used against you guys," Jay picked up, sitting up.

"Then, no one wanted to get your hopes up because they weren't sure if we were ever gonna wake up," Jack finished.

Bella walked over to Jayden. "I'm not dreaming, right?"

"Would you like me to prove it?" Jay asked right back. Receiving a nod, Jay punched her sister in the arm with her good arm. "You're perfectly awake, I assure you," She smirked.

"Jay," Immediately she was pulled out of her seat and wrapped in the arms of her oldest sister. Soon enough, she felt Andi come up behind her and hug her as well.

"Guys, I need to sit down. These pills really suck," Jay spoke up after a minute.

"Do you guys need anything?" Bobby asked, having just let go of his brother as well.

"To get off these damned pills and onto my herbs, not that the fuckin doctor'll let me. Other than that, I'm just hungry," Jack grinned at Jay, knowing she hated the pills but knowing she needed them at the same time.

"We'll be back in a few minutes. Come on, Angel," Andi stated and the two of them left.

"Stop looking at us like that, guys. We're not gonna disappear," Jack stated into the now 10 minutes of silence that filled the room.

"I don't particularly care how they look at us so long as they explain themselves to me. And I mean your sudden new relationship, not the shooting. I know all that already."

"No you don't, Jay-bird. We should've gotten to you sooner," Bella sighed, looking away from her sister.

"But you got to us. And, if you hadn't shot back at them, Jack and I would be dead. Actually, completely dead," Jay tried to reassure her sister. "Besides, why did you think I smiled?" Bella sharply looked up at her. "You don't know? I smiled because you came. Because if you were there, I knew I was safe."

"She's right Bobby. That's the way it's always been. Even if you're not safe to go against, you're the safest person when you're on my side," Jack told his brother.

"You're such a fairy, Jackie," Bobby smiled this time.

"New joke, Bobby. Seriously, you really need a new one," Jack said it with a smile on his face though, glad for the first time he was hearing it considering how close he came to never hearing it again.

"Wow, sappy much?" Andi and Angel walked back into the room carrying bags of fast food.

"Shut up, Andi!" Bella glared at her sister.

"Enough, I still want to know," Jay starred at Bella.

"Later, Jay. Let me figure this all out first."

"Apparently, they were both drunk and don't exactly remember much," Jules filled in.

"Fine, be that way," Jay huffed and sat back on the couch.

"How's Ma's house?" Jack asked. Both of them were sure it'd been shot to shit.

"It looked like Swiss cheese for a while there, but it's much better now. The six of us have been working on it," Angel supplied.

After a shared look with Jack, Jay asked, "Can we go there tomorrow?"

"Are you sure, Jay-bird?" Andi asked.

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have asked," Bella snorted. 

"Shut up, Bellatrix! She sounds just like you," Jules stated.

"I know. I taught her well, it seems," Bella smiled at her little sister. "And yes, if you want to, we'll go tomorrow," She answered.

"This might seem slightly morbid, but I have to know. You said you both died for a few minutes, right? Why did you come back?" Andi asked. 

Jack and Jay looked at each other. "We can't answer for each other, obviously. But I can tell you why I did," Jack offered.

"I'll tell you right now, I wasn't going to. That's why I was gone longer, I'm sure. I saw Dad and wanted to stay with him," Jayden stated frankly.

"Ma told me to, actually. Then I heard Bobby shout to me "Don't you go anywhere near that damn light, ya fairy!" so I came back," Jack shrugged. Bobby smiled and the others laughed.

"Dad didn't tell me anything, actually. He just kinda smiled and then I argued for a minute with Bella. She shouted to me, "Get your ass back here now, Pixie!" and I told her I didn't want to but then Papa stopped smiling and I felt like he wanted me to come back, so here I am."

"Papa wanted you to come back?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. Don't seem so shocked. You know he was happiest for us when we were all together, Bella," Jay put her arm around her sister's waist and pulled her onto the couch with her. "Other than the house and Bella and Bobby getting drunk together, how's everyone else doing?" Jay asked, laying back down and resting her head in Bella's lap this time with her legs stretch out onto Jack's lap.

"Ricky went back to New York about a week or so ago. The two of you have to call up there and tell them you're okay. Ricky said he was gonna break the news to them," Andi informed them both.

"Thanks. Someone hand me the phone," Jay held out her hand and Angel tossed her the phone. Jay dialed Ricky's cell number and waited while it rang. "Is Ricky there?" She asked when a familiar sounding female voice answered the phone.

"He's sleeping right now. I probably shouldn't tell you, but his foster sister died a few weeks ago and he's real broken up about it. He hasn't been to work since he got back."

"Marissa, wake his lazy ass up and put him on the phone," Jayden demanded.

"Jay? Please tell me I'm not imagining things," Jay could hear the disbelief in Missa's voice.

"You're not. Quick question though, why are you at Ricky's?"

"I'm not. He's sleeping at your place. Has been since he got back," Missa explained. 

"Thanks Missa. Now wake Ricky up and put him on the phone."

"Give me a minute, sweetie," Jay heard Missa put down the phone and wake Ricky up. "Here he is," She handed the phone off to Ricky.

"Richard Dantes! What the fuck do you think you're doin' not going to work? And sleepin' in my bed no less. You damn well better wash my sheets before I get back there!" Jay sat up. "But seriously, Ricky, why aren't you at work?" There was no answer. "Ricky?"

"He fainted, Jay. What did you say to him?" 

"I asked him why the fuck he wasn't at work and why he was sleeping in my bed," Jay answered Marissa. 

Jack took the phone out of her hand. "She spooked him is what she did. Missa, when he wakes up, will you have him call us back?"

After a couple of minutes, Jack hung up and turned to Jay. "Well?" She asked.

"Missa went to go tell everyone else that we're okay and they'll call back when Ricky wakes up," Jack answered.

"Wait a minute, who's Missa?" Andi asked.

"Marissa. She lives next door to me," Jay answered. "The top two floors of our loft development are all really good friends. That's why Ricky told them when he got back to New York," She explained. 

"You guys are all close?" Bella tilted her head slightly.

"For the most part. They don't ask us any questions and we don't volunteer that much," Jack answered.

"Most of what they know about us comes from my art and Jack's music."

"Wait, why'd you say for the most part, Jackie?" Jerry asked.

"Well, the only one we're not close to is Saundra. Sandy is a rich girl in the wrong world, really," Jack stated.

"Her parents own some huge corporation of some sort. Anyway, she's always going on about how hard it was for her growing up meanwhile her parents send her $1,000 a week as her allowance," Jay continued, rolling her eyes. "We don't like her very much."

"Can't say I blame you really," Bobby agreed.

"They've seen all your art and heard Jack's music?" Angel asked.

"Yes. All of us go to each others stuff. Like any time I have any art in a gallery, they go to the opening. Every one of Jack's shows we all do our best to make it to. Missa's shows we go to. She's a dancer in a number of different musicals just off Broadway. Things like that," Jay explained.

The eight of them sat in the living room together until Marissa called back, three hours later. "Hey guys!"

"Hey Missa. Hang on, let me put you on speaker phone," Jay put her on speaker phone and hung up the hand set. 

"Don't you two EVER do that to me again, understand! I can't believe you let me think you were dead! Have you completely lost it!"

"Kaleb!"

"No! Do you have any idea what I've been doing lately? No you don't!"

"Kaleb!'

"And why the FUCK did you two go and get shot for anyway! What were you thinking? You weren't, were you!"

"KALEB!" Jayden and Jack both shouted.

"What!"

"Calm down! We didn't do it on purpose, Kal. We've been in comas for the past three weeks," Jay pacified him.

"Oh. Well, in that case, I'll calm down. Just don't do it again!" 

"We won't," Jack smiled over at Jay. They could practically see Kaleb pacing in front of the phone, hand bent on his hip.

"Who is that?" Bella asked.

"Oh, right. That was Kaleb, mine and Jack's boyfriend," Jay winked so only Jack could see her and then spoke again to their friends in New York. "Guys our siblings are all here. That was Bella. Guys say hi when I say your name. This is Andi, Jules, Jerry, Angel, and Bobby," Each of them said hi so Jack and Jay's friends in New York knew who was talking when. "Who's all over?"

"Missa."

"Luke," He is the drummer for Jack's band.

"Lily-Rose," She is a singer in most of the same off Broadway productions as Missa danced in.

"Austin," He is an artist just like Jay.

"Cami," She's the bassist for Jack's band.

"And me, Kaleb." Kal is another dancer in off Broadway productions like Missa. 

"I'm here too," Ricky spoke up.

"Guys, where are the others?" Jay asked.

"Well, that's why it took us so long to call you back. Archie was over last night. Anyway, Scott, Lynn, Jessie, Sandy, Andy, and Kyle are all at the hospital with Cat. He put her in ICU last night, guys. She's in an unstable coma right now," There was silence after Missa told them what had happened to their friend. 

"Why did you tell us when we first called?" Jack asked quietly after a few minutes.

"We just found out shortly after we hung up with you."

"Which hospital and doctor?" Jay asked.

"We made sure she got Tommy," Cami answered.

"Good. Jules, can I borrow your phone really quick? I need to call Tommy," Jay turned to her sister.

"Sure. Here," Jewel handed her the phone and Jay quickly dialed Tommy's cell number. 

"Does he know we're okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, we made sure to tell him," Luke answered.

"Hi Tommy," Jay smiled as he picked up the phone.

"Jay? That you?"

"Yep. I need you to tell me about Cat's injuries though."

"Are you sure you wanna hear that, Jay? It's not pretty," Tommy sounded concerned.

"Just tell me, Tommy!" Jay demanded.

"Alright. She's got three broken, four cracked, and four bruised ribs. Her left forearm is broken as is her right wrist. There appear to be at least three separate blows to her head, one of which broke her nose. From what I can tell, a ball pin hammer was used to break her right knee cap. Two of her broken ribs broke through the skin and the other scrapped her lung, but there wasn't any critical damage to it."

Jay was silent a moment. "Will she be alright?"

"I think so. So long as she wakes up, she'll be okay, but I'm not sure if she will yet," He answered.

"Alright. I need you to do something for me. When she wakes up, because I know she will, make sure she moves in with Cami, not back to her own apartment. Archie can get to her there. I'll tell the others the same thing. She needs to be with someone all the time so that he can't get to her again," Jay instructed.

"Okay. I'll do my best."

"No, Tommy. Not your best. You have to give her doctor's orders to do it. She'll listen to that."

"I will. I have to go now though. I've got surgery coming up soon. Hurry back, guys."

"We will. Bye Tommy," Jay hung up. "Cami, did you hear me?" She asked.

"I did. Don't worry, I'll keep her with me or one of the others until you two get back," She assured Jay.

"Did Tommy tell you what her injuries were?" Lily-Rose asked.

"He did. Do you want me to tell you?" She asked.

"Not really. Just how serious is it?" Austin answered.

"Most of the critical damage was done to her head. From what I can remember of head wounds, she may have memory loss when she does wake up. Right now Tommy's not sure she will though," Jay told them.

"Guys, go to the hospital with the others. Cat's a fighter, you know that. She'll wake up," Jack instructed them.

"And Ricky, I meant it when I said you damn well better change my sheets before I get back. And get your lazy ass back to work!" 

"I will, Jay. When will you be back?"

"When we're completely healed and our siblings release us," Jack answered. "So we have no idea," Jack smiled.

"Alright. We'll call again later, or maybe have the others call you later," Luke said.

"And hurry up, you two! This bed is far too big for just me!" Kaleb insisted.

"So sleep in mine. It's smaller," Jack reasoned.

"Okay. Love you guys!"

"Love you too, Kal," Jack and Jay spoke together.

After they hung up, Bella turned to Jay. "First question, who is Tommy?"

"Tommy is a surgeon at Bellevue Hospital where Cat currently is," Jay answered, knowing that wasn't what Bella wanted to know.

Andi sighed and rolled her eyes. "How do you know him, Jayden?"

"She dated him a year or so ago," Jack answered this time. "He's the only doctor any of us will go to when it's something serious," He clarified. 

"What the fuck was all that about Kaleb?" Bobby asked.

"Don't you listen? I told you once already; he's mine and Jack's boyfriend," Jay turned and curled into Jack's side. "I hate pills. They make you tired," Jay stated after a yawn.

"I know. Come on, bed's upstairs," together, the two of them heaved themselves off the couch and, grabbing a crutch each, made their way up to Jay's bedroom. "I can't believe you did that."

"Oh come on! The opportunity was too perfect. Besides, I knew Kaleb would react the way he did. And you can't say their faces weren't worth it," Jay stated.

"You're not tired at all, are you?"

"Nope. I do have a sketch idea though," With that, Jay picked up her sketch book and pencils and went to work.

Half an hour later, she closed it and fell asleep beside Jack.


	10. Chapter 9

The next morning, Jay woke up with her head pillowed on Jack's chest while he was running his fingers through her hair.

"Mm, morning Jackie."

"Good morning Jay. Sleep good?"

You know I did. I always do," Every time Jay slept in the same bed as Jack she always slept completely through the night.

"Can I see the sketch you did last night?" He asked.

Jay starred at him for a second, then sat up. "Sure. But I should tell you, it's not done yet and I'm intending to make it a painting," She reached for the sketch book and handed it to Jack. Jay sat on the edge of the bed, knowing what Jack was looking at.

She'd drawn all four Mercer brothers, Bobby and Jerry in the middle, Jack beside Jerry and Angel beside Bobby. Both of the younger two were slightly in front of Bobby and Jerry. (Think of the movie poster picture.) They were standing in a field against a blue sky with fluffy clouds. In the sky, was Evelyn's face. She was smiling and looking down at her four boys.

"Jay, it's beautiful," Jack handed her back the sketchbook.

"Thank you. I'm going to paint it and give you guys the painting for a Christmas gift. Just don't tell your brothers, okay?"

"You got it," Jack slid up behind her and hugged her, resting his chin on her right shoulder.

"Jackie, Jay-bird? You two awake?" Andi knocked on the door.

"Yeah!" They called back.

"Good," She and Angel walked in. "Do you need help down the stairs, Cracker Jack?" Angel asked.

"No," Jack stated, grabbing his crutch and standing up. Jay followed his lead and the two of them made their way down the stairs, Angel in front of them, Andi behind them.

"Hi again, Sofi," Jay smiled at the young woman who was downstairs in the living room.

"Jay, my wife Camille and daughters Daniela and Amelia," Jerry introduced them.

"Uncle Jack!" Daniela and Amelia ran over to him.

"Careful girls," Camille warned.

"It's okay, Camille," Jack assured her and bent down as both girls hugged him.

"Where's Sammy?" Jay asked Jules.

"Right here, Aunt Jay!" The aforementioned five year old bounded into the room and straight to Jayden.

"Hey kid," Jay smiled and bent down to hug him.

"Come on you two. There's breakfast in the kitchen," Jules smiled.

"Who made it?" Jay followed her siblings with caution.

"Charlie and Camille," Bella answered.

"Oh good. It's not poisonous then," Jay hobbled into the kitchen far more comfortably now.

Jack laughed and followed her.

An hour later, the two of them were squeezing each other's good hand as they rode, mostly in silence, to the Mercer home. The only noise was the music from Bella's radio.

"Ready?" Bella made eye contact with Jay through the rearview mirror before they turned onto the right road.

"Yeah," Jay answered in a small voice. Jerry and Jules both had their own families in their cars while Angel, Andi, and Sofi rode in Angel's car. The same one he'd 'borrowed' from a friend.

Slowly, the Mercer home appeared on the road before them. Bella parked in the driveway and Jack got out and helped Jay out. The two of them stood and starred at the place where they'd been shot. Jay was glad it had snowed since they'd been shot, but still she could practically see the blood in the snow around the phone pole. Turning her eyes to the house, she could see the differences to the front of the house. It was a different shade of green now than it had been before for one thing.

Jack's grip had become almost painful but Jay hardly noticed it, though in some part of her mind she was sure she was squeezing back just as hard.

"Are you two okay?" Jules came up behind them and spoke softly. Jay nodded her head and assumed Jack did the same as he didn't speak.

Tugging gently, though still squeezing her hand tight, Jack pulled Jay into the house. They sat together on the couch and Jay once again curled into Jack's side. He put his arm around her and rested his head against hers.

"Fairy," Bobby stated. Jack just smiled, remembering what Jay had told everyone about Kaleb the day before and deciding not to dispute it right now.

The six of them spent a few hours at the house together before Jay and Jack decided they were ready to go back to the Messinger home. They climbed back into Bella's car and this time conversation came easily to the two in the front seat. They ended up debating hockey for most of the ride, actually. Jay and Jack sat together in the back seat, silently listening to their older siblings.

"I'm going to go work on that painting I was telling you about," Jayden informed Jack as soon as they hobbled through the front door.

"Okay, but I'm staying down here," He smiled at her and Jay started climbing the stairs as best as she could with a crutch under one arm.

She set up all of her art supplies she would need and sat in front of the canvas, the sketch off to the side slightly. Jay began by painting the field and sky before actually starting on the four brothers. At some point, Jack brought her a glass of water and something to eat. Some time later, he came back up and fed the food to her as she continued to work on the painting. The last time Jack walked into the room was to go to bed. He lay down, facing the wall so the light didn't disturb him and so he wouldn't see the painting. He knew with Jay's work that if he looked before it was finished, he'd feel he ruined it for himself.

Evelyn was the hardest for Jay as she had never met the woman. But she knew her own dad and figured they were pretty similar considering the children they'd taken in and raised. Jay did her very best to convey pride in Evelyn's face as she looked down upon her four sons.

Finally, she put her brush down and glanced at the clock. The red numbers told her it was 5:30am. Sighing, she grabbed a cloth and set it over the painting, being careful with the way she laid it so that the paint didn't smudge. She always did this; take an extremely long time to complete a painting. She was a perfectionist though, when it came to her art; Always had been, ever since she first started back in her biological parents' home. She was glad Even had convinced her to keep going with it even though she often found herself disappointed in the work she'd done when she was younger.

She climbed into the bed beside Jack, who had turned over in his sleep, and curled up against him then. Entirely too soon for Jay, Bella was waking them up.

"Jay? How long have you been painting anyway?" Jerry asked that afternoon.

"Since I came here, really. I mean, I did a few drawings and stuff at my mother and father's, but everything I was serious about I did here. Why?"

"Just wondering after you spent all day yesterday working on that painting. What is it anyway?"

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow, like everyone else. It's a Christmas gift," She declared.

"Shit, already? I'd forgotten Christmas was tomorrow. Are we all going to have Christmas together then?" Jules asked.

"Sure. We could even have dinner together, if Camille and Charlie would be wonderful enough to cook it for us," Bella turned pleading eyes to the two in question.

"Relax, Bella. You guys would poison yourselves if we didn't," Charlie rolled his eyes as Camille nodded her agreement.

"We'll help as much as we can, okay? There's a lot of people to feed," Jack offered.

Jay and Jack's friends from New York called again and reported that Cat's scans (CAT scans! teehee! Sorry) were showing improvement.

"Why did Cat move to New York anyway? I mean you moved for your music, and Jay for her art," Andi asked.

"To be a model; 'Cept then she met Archie. I have never met a more controlling man in my life," Jay stated.

"He controlled what she ate, when she ate, when she was able to hang out with the rest of us, the modeling jobs she tried for, when she slept, everything really," Jack elaborated.

"But he didn't start hitting her until a few months before we came back here. Cat, of course, believed she deserved it. Jackie and I were both working with her to get her to leave him and I think we were getting through to her," Jay sighed. The others nodded; they all understood abuse and what it did to some people.

The next morning, Jay got up earlier than Jack and wrapped the painting in some of the brown packaging paper her dad always kept around the house.

After the kids opened their gifts that morning, Jay handed the painting to Bobby. "It's the one I was working on the day before yesterday," She informed him before turning to her sisters. "I think I might do one of us as well, but I'm not sure yet."

Bobby tore the paper off and starred at what he saw. "Man, what is it?" Angel asked, standing and looking at the painting for himself. "Oh God," He breathed.

Jerry's eyes narrowed and he and Jack walked up to Bobby. Jerry sucked in a shocked breath when he saw it. Jack, though he knew what he would see, was still gobsmacked. None of them could believe the detail in each of them and in their mother's face.

"Jayden, what did you paint?" Camille asked.

"It's the four of them in a field, Jerry and Bobby in the middle. In the sky is Evelyn's face, looking down at them," Jay starred at the back of the canvas as she spoke.

"She looks so proud," Angel muttered.

"What makes you think she's not?" Camille countered. "She always was proud of the four of you, you know that."

Bobby handed the painting to Jerry silently. Swiftly, he walked to Jay, snatched her out of her seat and pulled her into a fierce hug. "Thank you," He whispered in her ear.

Jay wrapped her arms around him as tight as she was able. "You're more than welcome," She whispered back.

**Author's note: Okay, I know that bit with Bobby was slightly OOC, but for good reason. He cried in the movie for Evelyn and I know she was very dear to all of them, but Bobby was the oldest and it is my experience that the oldest always seems closer somehow to the parent(s), so I figured I would have him react a lot to a painting of her like that, ya know? Did that make sense at all? By the way, I'm sick right now so updates may take a bit for a little while. Lastly, much thanks to Aleta Rois for reviewing and JainaZekk621 for reviewing both stories! I appreciate it greatly guys!!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's note: Just so you know, there will be a slight time jump in this chapter. **

Two and a half weeks after Christmas, the phone rang at the Messinger home. Everyone was there because it was easier to help Jay and Jack no matter how much they insisted that they were fine. Andi answered the phone.

"Yeah, hang on," She turned to Jay and Jack. "Phone for you two. Do you want me to put it on speaker phone?"

"Sure, thanks," Jay nodded. "Hello?"

"Tommy said I had to call you. And yes, the others told me you were okay just a few minutes ago."

"Cat! You're awake!" Jack grinned.

"How are you feeling, Sweetie?" Jay asked.

"I'm fine, Jay. Tommy has me on enough pain killers that I can't really feel anything. How are you guys?"

"We're good. They've finally reduced the meds we're taking, thankfully," Jay sighed.

"When are you guys coming home?" She asked.

"As soon as we can, Cat. I promise," Jack stated.

"Good. Guys, this stuff is making me feel a little loopy so I'm gonna go now, kay?'

"Okay. We'll see you soon, Cat," They said their goodbyes and Jay pushed the speaker phone button to hang up.

"Hey Bobby, come here for a minute," Bella and Bobby walked out of the room and upstairs.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Jay wondered out loud.

"Who knows?" Jack shrugged.

20 minutes later, the Bobby and Bella walked back into the room. "Listen, if you two keep improving the way you have been, Doc says you'll be able to go back to New York. We'll drive you there in a couple weeks, got it?" Bobby asked.

"Seriously? Awesome," Jay smiled and curled back into Jack's side. The two of them had gotten to the point where they no longer needed to use a crutch and were using a cane instead. Jack had begun trying to play his guitar again and it wasn't as difficult as the doctor had thought it would be. Jay thought he'd just underestimated Jack's determination to play again.

About three weeks later, Jay and Jack were riding back to New York with Bobby and Bella. As usual, most of the conversation was supplied by the two older siblings.

Jay gave directions once they reached Soho. They reached the loft building and Bella thought it looked like the lofts in RENT, though she would never admit to having actually watched the movie.

"Thanks guys," Jay and Jack both climbed out of the car just as Scott, Cami, and Luke were walking out.

"Jack! Jay!" Cami saw them first.

Jay waved and smiled as the three of them rushed over. "Hey guys," Jack grinned.

"Hey Bobby," Scott leaned down to talk to their siblings after hugging Jay and Jack.

"Bella, the rest of Jackie's band, Scott, Cami, and Luke. Jay's sister, Bella," Bobby introduced them

"Come on, the shopping can wait. You two need to get your asses upstairs," Luke insisted. He grabbed Jay's bags from her and started walking back into the building.

"Thanks guys," Jay leaned into the car and hugged Bella before going to the other side and hugging Bobby. Jack hugged Bella and waved to Bobby. Then the two of them followed Luke into the building, Cami and Scott following them.

"Cat came home today, by the way. She was getting so antsy in the hospital. Tommy says her nose is completely healed and only has a slight bulge where it healed. Her cracked and bruised ribs are healed now, the broken ones should be completely healed in about a week or so. He had to replace her knee cap because of the damage to it. She's walking rather well on it now though. She was using a cane for a while there. She's still got the cast on her arm and wrist. Tommy says her wrist will take about the same time as her forearm to heal," Scott explained.

"Thanks Scott. Has he come back here yet?" Jay asked.

"No he hasn't. He doesn't even know she's out of the hospital," Cami answered.

"Good. Let's leave it that way for now," Jack instructed.

"How are the two of you now, by the way?" Luke asked.

"Wonderful. Jack's almost completely back to normal with his guitar too, which is exciting," Jay smiled.

"You almost couldn't play?" Cami asked.

"Almost," Jack stressed.

"Jay! Jack! You're back!" Cat saw us first as we walked through the door.

"Hey Kitty. How are you feeling?" Jay asked, hugging Missa.

"I'm alright, I guess. How are you both?" She asked.

"Loads better than we were," Jack admitted. He and Jay both sat on either side of Cat. "Where's Sandy?"

"She's out with her new boyfriend. She's supposed to be back soon," Lynn answered.

The group of them sat together in the room, mostly just talking about unimportant things until around 5:30 that evening.

"Lily, Kaleb, it's time to go," Marissa announced.

"Go? Go where?" Jay asked.

"They have a show tonight. We'll see you guys there," Cat decided.

"Cat, maybe you should stay here, ya know? Because of your meds," Lily-Rose thought.

"Nope, I'm okay. And I need to get out and do something. I can't sit here all day."

"I know the feeling, my dear. Which theater?" Jack asked. Kaleb told them and then the three of them left to prepare for their show.

"Hey guys!" Sandy called as she walked through the door 20 minutes later. "Oh my god, Michael took me to this really great restaurant and, …" She stopped dead, starring at Jack and Jay. "OH MY GOD! When did you two get back? Why didn't anyone tell me? Are you guys okay? How was the car ride back? Do you need anything?" She asked every question without a pause.

"We got back a couple hours ago. No one told you because you were out on your date. Yes, we're fine. The car ride was boring. And no, I think we've got everything we need," Jay answered all her questions.

The next afternoon, Archie showed up. Thankfully, everyone was there. Except Sandy, as usual. "Why didn't anyone tell me you'd come back? And why are you here instead of your own loft?" He demanded, ignoring everyone else in the room.

"Guess why no one told you," Jay rolled her eyes. "And she's under doctor's orders to stay with someone else for now."

"Fine then. Come on, Cat, get your stuff. There's room for you at my place."

"There's no way in hell she's going with you," Jack stood from his usual spot beside Cat.

"There's no reason why she shouldn't, Jack."

"You must think we're real stupid, huh? You put her in this situation. There's no way she's going with you," Jay stood as well.

"Oh, and you're going to stop me, are you?" He sneered.

"That's the idea," Ricky, Kaleb, Andy, Austin, and Scott moved to stand between Archie and the others.

Archie looked between all five guys standing in his way and then to the others all standing behind them. "Don't think you can get rid of me like this. I will come back for you Cat!" He turned and stormed off.

Jay sat beside Cat and immediately noticed she was shaking. Wrapping an arm around her, Jay pulled the younger woman closer to her. "He'll be back, Jay," She whispered in a shaky voice.

"I know sweetie. Don't worry, we won't let him hurt you ever again," Jay promised.

Jack locked eyes with Jay then nodded. "Ricky, would you be willing to let Cat come live with you for a while?"

"I would love to, you know that. But I can't. I'm leaving for a couple weeks. I won't be here," He stated. "For the next two days, I can though. I'm not leaving yet."

"Okay. Cat?"

"I'll go," She answered before he could ask.

"Okay. In the meantime, we need to get locks and such for the building. Or at least for our lofts, including the windows. He'll do anything he can to try to get to her in here," Jack turned to the others. Cat whimpered slightly and Jay tightened her hold on her.

"Maybe I should go back with him. I mean, he's already put me in the hospital so it can't get worse, right?" Cat looked up at Jay.

"No, Cat; It can and will get worse. True, he's put you in the hospital already. Next time, you may not get so lucky," Jay spoke, trying to keep the anger out of her voice but trying to get through to Cat at the same time.

"But he'll hurt you guys too for keeping me away. I should just go with him."

"Cat, we can take care of ourselves and each other, Sweetie. Don't you worry about us, got it?" Jessie sat in front of Cat and Jay.

"But…."

"No buts; we've got everything under control, okay?" Jack sat back on Cat's other side.

"Okay," She spoke after a few tense minutes, trusting Jack and Jay not to lie to her. Cat stayed with Ricky that night, as planned.

They'd gotten so used to sleeping in the same bed that Jack had decided to sleep in Jay's bed. The previous night they hadn't slept in the same bed and neither of them had gotten much sleep.

Jay was curled comfortably into Jack's side again when she got that niggling feeling at the back of her mind again. The one that told her to just lean up and kiss Jack. She'd been getting it without fail for nearly a month now and it was really starting to irritate her. She sighed, exasperated at herself.

"You okay, Jay-bird?" Jack muttered.

"Yeah, just thinking," She answered. Ten minutes later, the niggling feeling hadn't gone away. Fed-up with it, she leaned up and pressed her lips to Jack's and the feeling stopped. "Sorry," She muttered.

"Don't be," Jay could hear the smile in Jack's voice before he leaned down a little and captured her lips. His hand slid up from her lower back to cradle her head as he deepened the kiss. He licked her bottom lip and Jay opened her mouth to allow the warm muscle in. Both of them smiled as their tongue rings clinked. They broke apart a moment later. "Don't be sorry," Jack said again.

"I'm not," Jay smiled and curled her head back down and onto his chest.

**Author's note: broken ribs take at least 6 weeks to heal, forearm breaks take 6-10 weeks, wrists take the same. I googled them :) Also, there will only be one maybe two more chapters to this story, not including the epilogue. I thought you should know that.**


	12. Interlude thingy

_Author's note: I realized that I've never said anything about what Jay and Jack's friends in New York look like or Ricky for that matter. So instead of tediously telling you in the last chapter, I wrote this out. :) Also, no this doesn't count as a chapter._

Sandy – long, wavy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. Around 5ft 6in, and nearly anorexically skinny. Tan. 20 yrs old. Ballet dancer.

Marissa – short, curly brown hair, dull green eyes. About 5ft 8in and of healthy weight. Pale and freckled. 19 yrs old. Dancer

Scott – spiked black hair with blue tips, emerald green eyes. About 6ft 1in and relatively muscular. Tan. 22 yrs old. Guitarist for Jack's band

Luke – short, messy red hair and light brown eyes. Around 6ft 3in and thin. Tan. 22 yrs old. Drummer for Jack's band

Cami – shoulder length light brown hair and dark brown eyes. Around 5ft 5in and skinny. Caramel complexion. 22 yrs old. Bassist for Jack's band

Lily-Rose – long strawberry blonde hair and blue-grey eyes. Around 5ft 10in and thin. Pale. 21 yrs old. Singer

Austin – bald and grey eyes. Around 6ft and muscular. Lightly tan. 24 yrs old. Artist

Kaleb – dark brown hair just under his ears and green eyes. Around 6ft 2in and healthily built. Pale. 21 yrs old. Dancer

Lynn – long curly dark brown hair and dull purple eyes. Around 5ft 6in and healthily skinny. Pale. 23 yrs old. Pianist

Jessie – short, frizzy red hair and green eyes. Around 5ft 3in and thin. Pale with freckles. 25 yrs old. Violinist

Andy – dark brown very short hair, nearly bald and chocolate brown eyes. Around 5ft 9in and muscular. 19 yrs old. Ballet dancer

Kyle – spiked blond hair and dull brown eyes. About 6ft 4in and gangly. 21 yrs old. Model

Cat – long dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. About 5ft 9in and thin. 21 yrs old. Model

Tommy – short brown hair and hazel eyes. Around 6ft 1in and reasonably muscular. 26 yrs old. Doctor

Ricky Dantes – brown hair to the tops of his ears and dull blue eyes. Around 5ft 11in and muscular. 26 yrs old. Club owner

**Author's note: I actually looked up eye colors and you can have purple eyes naturally it's just that they're not as remarkable, or as visible as people think they would be. Thought I'd let you know that. **


	13. Chapter 11

When Cat came back to the lofts two days later, Tommy came with her

When Cat came back to the lofts two days later, Tommy came with her. "Ricky says he'll see us all when he gets back," Cat announced, walking in the door.

"Tommy!" Jay jumped up from her spot beside Jack.

"Hey Jay, hey Jack. How are you guys?" He asked.

"We're good. They finally decreased our pills, which is exciting," Jay hugged her ex-boyfriend.

"How are you doin'?" Jack asked.

"I'm good, actually. Sarah's expecting our first child," He announced.

"Really? That is so exciting! Do you have names picked out yet?" Sandy asked.

"Not yet."

"Sandy, what makes you think they do this early in Sarah's pregnancy?" Kyle rolled his eyes. "Anyway, congratulations Tommy. I'll see you guys when I get back," Kyle left then for his photo shoot.

Tommy stayed to talk to them all for a little while longer before he had to get back to his wife. Jay, once again, curled into Jack's side after hugging him goodbye. Cat narrowed her eyes and starred at Jay for a minute.

"Jayden Messinger I can not believe you didn't tell me!"

"Didn't tell you what, Cat?" Austin asked.

"She kissed Jack. And don't you lie to me, Jayden."

"I wasn't planning on it," Jay grinned from her spot against Jack.

"Wait a minute, why didn't you guys tell the rest of us?" Missa demanded.

"So are you guys together now, or what?" Lynn asked.

"Don't know and yes," Jack answered both questions after sharing a glance with Jay.

"They don't know. Oh well that's just wonderful," Cami sighed and plopped into one of the chairs.

"I have to go," Without another word, Sandy fled the room.

"What was that all about?" Jay asked.

"She's had a thing for Jack for a while now, actually," Kaleb answered.

"I don't expect she'll be around much anymore, either," Lily added.

For the next week or so, Jack and Jayden had trouble adjusting to being back in New York. They were both happy to be with their friends and each other of course, but it didn't feel right anymore. When not required to, they stayed away from the others. They were still in the room, but they weren't at the same time. Jay hadn't once touched her paints since they'd gotten back nor had Jack really picked up his guitar. The others in the lofts had figured it out, not that they could expect the two of them to ever come out and say it. It was up to them.

"Enough of this! All you two do is sit and stare out the windows anymore and we're all sick of it," Everyone, save Sandy who hadn't been coming around lately, was sitting in Jay's loft. Lily-Rose spoke again. "You guys have to tell us what's bothering you, ya know."

"It's nothing, guys. We're fine," Jay insisted.

"You're not, Jay. Even I can see that," Cat said. "Listen, I need to get out of New York anyway, we all know that, so why don't you guys just go back to Detroit like you both so obviously want to and I'll go with you. If you want me to, of course."

"Of course we would, Cat, but there's nowhere for us to stay in Detroit right now anyway," Jack replied.

The phone rang then. "Hello?" Jay had pushed the speaker phone button.

"Hey Jay-bird. It's Bella. First is a message from Bobby. He says your painting looks really good in the living room under their portraits."

"Oh good."

"Second, we need your vote. Andi's having issues living at Dad's without any of us there. She's rented an apartment a few blocks away. I'm living with Bobby now, and Jules has her own home. We're not sure what to do with Dad's place because no one's living there but we don't want to sell it either. What do you think?" Bella asked.

"Firstly, I think you have really creepy timing. We were just discussing some place to live in Detroit," She looked at Jack, who nodded. "Jack and I will be there soon. We'll move in there. And we're bringing Cat with us. Provided she still wants to come," Here Jay looked at Cat.

"You're not getting rid of me easily," Cat grinned.

"Alright then. I'll see you guys soon, alright?"

"Yeah. See ya, Bella," After their good byes, Jay hung up.

"Relax, Sweetie, we knew you'd be going back. Detroit is your home, not New York," Kaleb stated before she could even start.

"When you do go, we'll take the pick up truck. If it still runs anyway. That way we can stick your stuff in the bed," Missa decided.

"Those of us who have nothing to do then and for a couple days will come with you, yeah?" Austin looked at the others, most of whom nodded.

Jack, however, was looking at the rest of The Spades. "Don't start, Jackie. We're following you," Cami answered the question in his eyes.

"Besides, what's a band without a lead singer?" Luke questioned.

"Classical," Scott answered, smirking.

"You guys could never ever be classical, even without Jack," Jessie rolled her eyes.

Three days later, the group was on their way to Detroit. Jessie and Lynn had both had to stay behind for a concert, Kyle had a photo shoot the next day, Andy had a production, and Austin had his art showing in a gallery. Sandy had barely said good bye to them. That left Missa, Jay, and Jack in the truck and Scott, Luke, Cami, and Lily-Rose in Lily's car, and Kaleb was driving Cat in his car.

They pulled up in front of Jay's home and all piled out of the cars. Grabbing the few bags they'd decided to take from New York, Cat having the most, the group made their way inside.

"No one's here, are they?" Lily asked.

"Nope. They don't know when we're showing up," Jay answered. "This way," She led the way up the stairs. "Mine and Jack's stuff goes in here, and Cat, you can have my dad's room. It's just across the hall."

"Are you sure, Jay?"

"Yep. I don't know if Andi's going to stay here sometimes or not so to avoid that conflict, it's just best for you to have his room," Jay declared.

"Jay, there's a note for you," Cat wandered out into the hallway and handed her the note.

"'Jay,'" She read aloud. "'If I know you as well as I think I do, you've given your friend Cat Dad's room thinking that maybe Andi will come stay in her's occasionally. She probably won't though. She's got her own apartment now, remember? Regardless, the three of us cleaned out Papa's room. There's a box in your closet of things for you. The rest, that each of us didn't want or weren't sure about, is in Jules' attic. It's waiting for you to look through it and decide if there's more you want. If not… well, we'll figure that out later. Andi cleaned her shit out of her room too, and mine and Jules' rooms are mostly cleaned out. Just the beds and shit are still there. Bella," She finished and smiled. "Then there's three rooms with no one to sleep in and the two couches, if you guys want to sleep here while you're here," She addressed her friends.

"Where's Bella and Jewel's rooms?" Jack asked, noticing that there were only three bedrooms in this hallway; Andi's, Jay's, and their dad's.

"Bella's is in the basement and Jewel's is in the attic. They both moved there when I moved in. I've always liked Jules' room best. Well, after my own, obviously," Jay stated.

"Phone!" Kaleb announced as it rang.

Jay went to go answer it. "Hello?"

"Hey Jay, it's Austin. Listen, there's a slight problem. Archie was here earlier and he talked to Sandy. Now, Sandy's still pissed at you and she looked up your phone number on line and got your address. She told him, Jay. He's on his way there now."

"That dumb bitch! Why the hell would she do something that stupid?" Jay demanded. "Thanks so much, Austin. How long ago did he leave?"

"About an hour after you guys. Depending on how fast he's driving he could be there within the next twenty minutes," He informed her.

"Thanks Austin. I gotta go tell the others now."

"Call us later and tell us what happens, okay?"

"You got it. Bye," She hung up the phone and turned to the others. "We have a problem, guys. Sandy told Archie where to find us and he's on his way here as we speak."

"You're fuckin kidding, right?"

"I wish I were, Jackie, I really do."

"Alright, what do we do?" Cami asked.

"Lily, take Cat to Jewel's bedroom in the attic. Cat, you stay there. Stay as quiet as possible if he gets in the house. Missa, Cami, if you two would rather, you can stay with her as well. As for the rest of us, we'll meet him out front," Jay decided.

"Cat, get upstairs now! He's here," Scott turned from the window where he'd been keeping watch since Jay had told them he was coming.

Lily pulled on Cat's arm and the two of them rushed up the stairs as Jay, Jack, Scott, Luke, Missa, Cami, and Kaleb walked outside.

"Sandy's good for something, obviously. Where is she?" Archie demanded upon seeing the group. None of them said anything. "Damn it! Tell me where she is!" Archie pulled out a gun.

'I really hate guns.' Jay thought at that point.

**Author's note: You can hate me for that all you want, but I'm still ending this chapter right there. :)**


	14. Chapter 12

"Archie, what the hell are you doing?" Scott demanded, moving closer to Jay and Jack who were standing the closet to Archie.

"What do you think? Tell me where the hell Catrina is now," He demanded.

Glancing behind him, Jay saw a beat up 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. "No," She answered simply, seeing the Volvo and minivan pull up behind the Cutlass.

Bella, Angel, and Bobby got out of the Cutlass, Jerry got out of his Volvo, and Jules and Andi got out of the minivan. Andi, Angel, and Bella each pulled out their guns and Bobby grabbed the shotgun. As soon as the four of them got close to Archie, Bobby cocked the shotgun. Immediately, all four guns were trained on Archie.

Jules and Jerry moved to stand in front of Jack and Jay. "Is there any particular reason you're pointing a gun at our siblings?" Jules asked in a fake polite voice.

"They've got my girlfriend against her will," He answered. "Her name's Cat and…"

"You're Archie? Well then that changes everything doesn't it?" Jerry pretended to be happy to meet him right before punching him in the face and grabbing his gun.

"You get your ass back in that fuckin' car and get the hell outta Detroit," Bobby walked toward him until he started backing up and backed right into his car.

Bella sighed, rolled her eyes, and shot him in the leg. "Get in the fuckin' car, Archie," She said when he didn't move. Bleeding profusely, Archie scrambled into his car and drove away.

Bella and Bobby turned to Jay and Jack. "When the hell did you get here?"

"About half an hour ago," She answered, hugging her sister.

"Were you two trying to get shot again?" Bobby demanded, tossing the shotgun back into the car.

"No; He wouldn't've shot us. He doesn't have the guts to do it. Not with all of us here," Jay insisted.

With that, Jack turned to their friends. "Guys, our siblings, Bobby, Bella, Jules, Jerry, Andi, and Angel," He introduced them.

"Hi guys!" Kaleb bounded over and hugged all of Jay and Jack's siblings.

"Guys, this is Scott, Cami, Luke, Missa, and that is Kaleb," Jack grinned.

"Is he staying here too then?" Andi asked.

"No, why would he?" Jay replied.

"You told us he was yours and Jack's boyfriend," Jules was confused.

"Oh my god, I had completely forgotten about that!" Jay and Jack both laughed.

"You're not?" Bella turned to Kaleb.

"Oh no. Neither of them are my type anyway," Kaleb insisted.

"Where's Cat?" Jerry asked, having noticed that Jack didn't introduce her.

"Oh, she and Lily-Rose are inside upstairs. Come on, Austin wanted me to call after Archie came here," With that, Jay turned and led everyone into the house.

"Cat, Lily, you guys can come down now!" Jack called.

"There was a gun shot! Which of you got hurt?" Cat demanded, flying down the stairs.

"Relax, Kitty, it wasn't us. Bella shot Archie in the leg," Jay explained.

"Oh, okay."

"Cat, our siblings Bella, Jules, Andi, Bobby, Jerry, and Angel. Guys, Cat and Lily," Jay did the introductions this time.

The next day everyone was sitting in the living room and Cami, Scott, Luke, and Jack were discussing what they were going to do now.

"Guys, just go back to New York to Dantes, I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to replace me," Jack said finally.

"No, Jack. We can't replace you. Most of the songs are your material anyway," Cami insisted.

"Why can't you play at Dantes here?" Jay asked. Everyone looked at her like she was insane.

"Jay-bird, Dantes is in New York. We're in Detroit," Bella said as if she were speaking to a five year old.

"I know that! I meant, the new Dantes that Ricky is in the process of opening a couple miles away. He's having me paint the bar, tables, and such then I think I'm going to bartend up there. He needs a band for this one, guys. Samantha can find a band while she's running the one in New York."

"Wait just a minute! You knew he was opening one here and didn't tell the rest of us?" Jack demanded.

"I thought he told you guys too," She shrugged. "Sorry."

After a week, it was time for Missa, Kaleb, and Lily-Rose to go back to New York.

"Here Jay," Missa tossed her a set of keys. "I never drive it and if I do need a ride and can't take the subway, I can always ask one of the others."

"Missa, you can't be serious. I can't keep your car!"

"It's a truck, Jay, and yes you can. We'll call you guys when we get back to New York," Missa hugged her and the three of them left.

During the next two weeks, Cat got both of her casts removed, Jack kept working his guitar and was playing almost as well as he used to, and Jay started the art work on Ricky's new club. Cami, Scott, and Luke were staying in the house until Dantes opened and they could get their own apartment.

One night, after a movie, Cami, Scott, and Luke decided to take Cat out to celebrate getting her casts off. Jay and Jack decided to stay at home together.

They were laying in Jay's room on her bed, and Jay was telling Jack about each painting on her walls. When she was finished she leaned over and laid her head against his chest. He gently pulled her face up and pressed his lips to her. Jay leaned up and deepened the kiss.

Jack wrapped his arms around Jay's back and pulled her so she was laying on top of him, between his legs. His hands slowly slid up the back of her shirt and pulled it over her head when she broke away for a minute. Quickly, she pulled his shirt over his head before leaning down and recapturing his lips. His hands found her bra clasp and undid it, throwing the garment to the floor beside their shirts. Gently, Jack flipped them over so Jay was laying beneath him.

* * *

They woke up the next morning, legs tangled together in the blanket. Jay woke up to feel Jack running his fingers through her hair.

"Mm, morning," Jay smiled, stretching her arms above her head.

"Good morning, lovely," Jack smiled back. "Sleep good?"

"You know I did," Jay smacked his stomach in front of her face.

"What was that for?"

"For being a smartass. I could hear the smirk in your voice when you asked me that," She laid back down.

"Jay! Jack! Come down here!" Bella's voice rang out from the living room.

"Ugh, I really don't wanna," Jay complained.

"I know, but they'll come up here if we don't go down there," Jack sighed. The two of them got up and dressed into their pajamas.

"What?" Jay asked, arriving downstairs. She looked around the living room and noticed all of their siblings and the looks they were getting. "What?" She asked again cautiously.

"Andi tried to wake you two up half an hour ago and saw you," Cat walked into the room with a cup of hot coffee. "Want a cup?" She asked.

"Not right now, they don't," Bobby spoke up. "I seriously hope the two of you used protection. I mean, just because you know whether or not the other has anything doesn't mean you shouldn't use anything."

Jack looked at Jayden who was starring at a spot just to the left of Bobby's shoulder. "You didn't, did you? Jay you could…."

"No, Jules, I can't. I was beaten with a hot fire poker remember? I don't work right now, I never have. Relax, there's nothing to worry about," Jay turned and fled out of the house, not grabbing her jacket.

She realized two things as she started walking down the street. The first was that she'd forgotten to grab her shoes, the second was that it was afternoon, judging by the sun. Jay turned the corner at the top of the street and continued on down the road.

* * *

The house was silent for a moment as everyone registered what Jay had said and that she had walked out of the house. "Oh shit," Bobby was the first to speak.

"That explains the scars," Jack muttered to himself, refering to the small scars on her lower belly. Bella, Andi, and Jules made to walk past him and after her. "You know that's a bad idea. She won't want to talk right now," He stated.

The three girls stopped in their tracks, knowing he was right. "So what do you expect us to do, Jack?"

"Let her walk," He shrugged, turning to face them. He glanced at the coat rack and saw her jacket hanging there and her sandals beneath it. He strode over to them and picked both things up. "I'll follow her."

"Jackie, tell her…."

"Don't need to, Bobby. I'm sure she knows. You couldn't've done it on purpose anyway," Jack cut him off, grabbed his own shoes and jacket and walked out of the front door.

She was just turning the corner at the top of the road as he stepped out. He practically ran to catch up with her. "Jack, I don't want…."

"I know. But even though it is nearly 50 degrees out here, you still need shoes," He dropped the sandals at her feet.

"Thanks Jackie," She slipped her feet into the shoes and allowed him to put her jacket on her. Together the two of them walked for hours until finally Jay spoke. "I do feel guilty for not telling you that though and I'll completely understand if you don't want to stay with me anymore. I mean, I know you want children and I can't have them."

"First, if we really want a child of our own, I'm sure one of your sister would be a surrogate mother for us. And you know I'm more than willing to adopt children. There are kids out there who need to be adopted, you know that. Second, I'm not goin anywhere. I love you, Jay," They'd stopped at this point and were facing each other. Jay smiled and leaned into his hug. "Come on, we're not that far from home surprisingly."

"It's 'cause we walked in a circle. I always do that," She admitted. As they were walking back, Jack reached out and grabbed Jay's hand, holding it the rest of the way home.

When they got back, Bobby and Jules apologized for saying what they did. Jay waved it off, saying that they couldn't've known that that was wrong with her as she'd never told anyone that and only their dad had known because of a doctor's visit when she hadn't had her period by age 15.

After a month, Dantes opened and Cami, Luke, and Scott moved into the apartment above the club. Shortly after they moved out, Jack and Jay were laying in bed and jack was running his fingers through Jay's hair.

"Jay, marry me."

"What?" She looked up at him.

"I've been thinkin' about it and I want to marry you. I love you, Jay-bird. Marry me?" He asked this time.

"Yes," Jay grinned and leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. "Yes, yes, yes," She grinned again, breaking away from the kiss.

They were married the next year after Cat had moved out and gotten her own apartment. It was a small ceremony, just their family and friends, even the ones from New York, were there. Jay had decided that she didn't want to take Jack's name because she liked her own and wanted to keep it.

**Author's note: So the only thing left now is the epilogue. I really hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I think I may have another one coming out soon. Like within the next month but I'm not sure yet. We'll see. Thanks so much for reading everyone!**


	15. Epilogue

_10 years later _

"Haley, these people know every trick you've got. They were orphans themselves when they were kids, don't you try to pull a fast one on them," A man with graying hair spoke to a young girl about 15 years old.

"Sure they do, Greg," Haley rolled her eyes.

Greg sighed and knocked on the door. "Hello Greg. Hi Haley," Jay smiled down at the brunette girl.

"Haley, this is Mrs. Messinger."

"Jay, please. And my husband is Jack. Come in, come in. Greg, thank you. Does she have her bags?"

"I only have this one," Haley spoke up.

"Then get inside. Bye now, Greg," Jay closed the door. "James! Come down here!"

"Yeah, Mom?" A boy of about 16 years of age bounded down the stairs.

"This is Haley. Haley, my son James. Could you take her up to her room, James?"

"Sure, Ma. Come on, Haley,"

"Dinner's in an hour, guys. Jack will be home from the club by then."

"The club?" Haley asked.

"Yeah. Dad plays in a band in the club Dantes. He bartends a lot now though," James explained as he led his new foster sister upstairs.

Half an hour later Jack came home. "Hello, love. Haley got here half an hour ago," Jay informed Jack, hugging him.

"Where is she?"

"Upstairs with James."

"Are they getting along then?"

"I haven't heard any noise otherwise," Jay answered.

"I'm going to go check," Jack left the room and walked upstairs to check on the two teenagers.

"Who are you?" Haley backed away from the door when Jack walked in.

"This is my dad, Jack," James introduced him.

"Hi Jack," Haley spoke softly.

Jack looked to James and tilted his head. "Anyway, I was just checking to make sure the room is comfortable for you, Haley."

"It is, thank you," Haley didn't look at Jack.

"Right. Dinner's in 20 minutes, guys," Jack turned and left the room.

Two weeks later, Haley was slightly more comfortable around Jack, though she was still nervously polite to him The first time Bobby and Angel had come over, she'd run up into her room and locked herself in, scared.

"That bad, is she?" Bobby asked.

"With every guy except James it seems," Jay sighed. "I'm gonna go tell her now," She stood and followed Haley upstairs.

"Hi, Jay," Haley greeted her when she walked into her bedroom. "Sorry I ran out like that it's just…."

"Oh I know. Angel and Bobby made me nervous when I first met them too. Granted I had a different past than you but still,…"

"So you weren't rapped by foster fathers?" She demanded bitterly.

"No, actually. But I didn't speak for four years and my foster families tried everything they could to make me talk. One foster father, the one before I came here, he was the worst. He'd beaten me with a hot fire poker and the next night threw me into the fire. He's why I can't have children," Jayden confessed. She hadn't told James that about her past and wondered why she was telling Haley. "Anyway, point is, is that Bobby and Angel scared me when I first met them, but they helped my sisters save my life a couple days later."

"That's why you came up here?" Haley looked ready to yell.

"No, not really; side benefit, I guess. The reason I came up here was because I had a very serious question to ask. How do you think Haley Mercer or Haley Messinger sounds? We could always hyphen it if you would prefer."

"Wh…what?"

"Jack and I are adopting you, Haley. For the adoption papers we need…." Jay was cut off as Haley flung herself into her arms.

"You're really adopting me? Seriously?" She pulled back and looked at the older woman.

"Very seriously. Now answer the question," Jay smiled.

"Um, I think I like Haley Mercer better. I'm gonna go downstairs, okay?"

"Of course."

Haley stopped in her bedroom doorway. "Does this mean I can call you mom now like James does?"

"Absolutely," She grinned at the teenager.

"Thanks,... Mom," With that, she hurried down the stairs, yelling for James as she did.

Steadily, Haley got better around Jack and then Bobby, Angel, and the others until it was like she'd grown up around them.

"Hey Greg. What's up?" Haley opened the door two years later to find her old social worker on the doorstep.

"I brought the three new kids," He stepped out of the way to reveal three, black, starved looking, 11 year old triplets, one boy and two girls. "Hunter, Sadie, and Natalie this is Haley."

"Mom! Hunter, Sadie and Natalie are here!" Haley called. "Hi guys. Come on in."

"Thanks again, Greg," Once again, Jay closed the door in Greg's face.

"You enjoy that too much, Ma," James spoke from the door to his basement room. He'd moved there recently for the triplets, like Bella had when Jay came. Just as Haley had moved to the attic like Jules had.

"Yes, yes I do," Jay grinned up at him. "Haley, take the kids to their rooms. Dinner's in an hour, everyone."

Fin

**b Author's note: I wanted to thank everyone, again, for reading this whole story. And a special thanks to anexandra who's reviewed almost every single chapter, to JainaZekko621, Sliver of Melody, Skylinebabe, and Aleta Rois for reviewing, and to forgetMEalways for being my very first review. Yay! Okay, as I said in the last chapter, I may be starting a new Four Brothers story soon, so check back every so often for it! **


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